An armed confrontation between two football players at a match in Phnom Penh on Sunday has prompted the Cambodian Football Federation to request a probe into the incident.
Witnesses and officials said a member of the Phnom Penh All-Stars—a team that includes several men from prominent Cambodian families—threatened an opponent with a gun after a weekend match near Phnom Penh International Airport. Witnesses said the dispute was sparked by rough play during the match.
Khek Ravy, president of the Cambodian Football Federation, learned of the incident Monday and has asked the tournament’s organizer to investigate and report back to him this week.
“At the end of the match, one of the players from the Phnom Penh All-Stars threatened one of the players of the Bayon Wanderers,” a team composed of mostly Westerners, Khek Ravy said.
“Football’s name was smudged at that event,” he said. The federation neither organized nor sponsored the independent tournament, he added.
Scores of players and sideline observers witnessed the confrontation, but on Monday neither Khek Ravy nor the event’s organizer, Seng Kim Horn, could identify the man who brought the gun onto the field.
Seng Kim Horn said he was not at the field at the time, but witnesses said the victim was a Western man, he said.
“The problem was when the game was over, the man took the gun and pointed it at the guy on the other team,” Seng Kim Horn said. “When they finished, they just walked off the field.”
No one was hurt, and Seng Kim Horn said police would not be involved in his probe. He said it is unclear what punishments, if any, he could mete.
after his probe.
