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| Sleague |
The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) disciplinary committee reconvened last night over the pre-match fight involving the two clubs at the Hougang Stadium on May 23.
After a four-and-a-half hour hearing at the Jalan Besar Stadium, the five-man committee led by lawyer K Bala Chandran decided to adjourn proceedings to June 16.
FAS spokesperson Kelvin Leong said: "The hearing will be adjourned to June 16, due to the long list of witnesses, and they want to be thorough before giving their verdict."
For their part in a pre-match scuffle which saw a match being abandoned prior to kick-off for the first time in the S-League's history, both clubs saw their fixtures suspended indefinitely, and were charged with bringing the game into disrepute.
Individual charges were brought against Hougang trio Fathi Yunos, Shariff Samat and assistant coach Hasrin Jailani, and Etoile's Serge Souchon and Hadama Bathily.
The disciplinary committee met for the first time on Friday and, after three-and-a-half hours, adjourned to yesterday.
Hougang is scheduled to face Malaysia's Young Tigers in an RHB Singapore Cup preliminary round fixture this Friday, while Etoile is due to play Tanjong Pagar United next Wednesday, and both fixtures have now been thrown into jeopardy with last night's adjournment.
"The FAS will make a decision on the indefinite suspensions of both clubs and individual players (today)," added Leong, when quizzed about the status of both fixtures.
Etoile was not represented at last night's hearing after presenting its case to the committee last Friday, while the entire Hougang squad turned up at Jalan Besar, with a number of players called in to give their eyewitness testimonials.
MediaCorp understands that contrasting accounts of the incident were given by both parties, with video evidence proving to be inconclusive.
Etoile said its midfielder Souchon - who missed both hearings despite having individual charges brought against him - is on international duty in Bangui, representing the Central African Republic in an Africa Cup qualifier against Tanzania, and would only return to Singapore this Friday.
But the club did not explain how the player could be allowed to represent his country while facing disciplinary charges here, as his club remains suspended by the league.
Hougang and Etoile have both taken conciliatory steps in the weeks leading up to the hearings, holding a joint press-conference denouncing the incident, and also putting on a football-tennis session to aid the mending of relationships between both parties.
