A scuffle that broke out between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Malaysia national players in Friday's international friendly match was somewhat expected, according to national Under-23 head coach Ong Kim Swee. 

He said the UAE or any teams from the Middle East would start to create provocation against their opponents when they are trailing in the game.

“The UAE are ranked much higher than us [Malaysia], they are not used to be trailing and the provocation was expected,” he said in a press conference after the match.

In the incident, several UAE players and coaches attacked the Malaysia players in the dying minutes of the game.

The incident was believed to have been sparked by several rough tackles by players from both teams and it was later brought under control by security personnel about two minutes later. 

In the match, Malaysia defeated the UAE 2-0 with goals from Safawi Rasid and Akhyar Abdul Rashid.

Ong added that no players were injured in the incident and hoped it would not be repeated at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia later this month.

"Players have to be clear about controlling their emotions when provoked by their opponents, and if the incident was to happen at the Asian Games, it would not be beneficial to us,” he said.

At the upcoming Asian Games, Malaysia are placed in Group E with South Korea, Bahrain and Kyrgyzstan.

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