SHAH ALAM, Aug 12 — They travelled miles just to catch a glimpse of their favourite players in action.
Sadly, FC Barcelona fans were left disappointed for the run-up to the Malaysia-Barcelona clash on Saturday turned out to be a nightmare of sorts.
The change of venue at the eleventh hour, after officials from Barcelona decided the National Stadium at Bukit Jalil was not fit for play, caused confusion as supporters were forced to reschedule their routine and head to Shah Alam Stadium instead.
Reaction from some fuming Barca fans:
Mohd Luthfi Abdullah, 44, Kajang (picture, left)
“How can the organisers treat us like this? The change in venue should have been done earlier and not at the last minute. I only knew the match was moved to Shah Alam at noon today (Saturday) through a friend of mine who was also attending the match. It is a badly organised event and I hope they plan properly if the organisers bring any European teams in future.”
Peter Shaun, 26, Nigeria (picture, right)
“I use public transport and Bukit Jalil was convenient for me thanks to the LRT. With the switch in venue, I had to take two cabs from my location in Jalan Ipoh and ended up paying a lot of money. I really don’t have any idea how am I going to get back after the match as the public transport in Shah Alam is poor. I got to know about the change in venue at 3pm (on Saturday) by my friend who was on his way to Shah Alam. If not I would have been sitting in Bukit Jalil clueless.”
Shuresh Mohan, 27, Sentul
“I’m unhappy. The reason I took the initiative to come to Shah Alam was because of Barcelona. If it was any other team, I would have just sat at home. I got to know about the change in venue at noon (Saturday) after going through Facebook. Why can’t they plan properly? Fans faced a difficult time due to the organiser’s incompetency.”
Sam, Najib and Raed, 26, Yemen (picture, top)
“The reason we bought tickets to watch Barcelona was because our apartment was a walking distance from the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil. We only found out about the change in venue from Facebook and we were forced to rent a car to get to Shah Alam. It also took time for us to find the Shah Alam Stadium as we have never been to this side of Selangor. We hope the organisers do not repeat such a mistake in the future as it is misleading to fans.”
Siva Kumar, 42, Puchong
“I’m not affected by the change in venue but why the last minute decision? Do the organisers know what they are doing or is it a Malaysian culture to change things at the last minute? I have watched Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City play in KL and never saw such issues cropping up. The Barcelona game was disappointing. We were taken for a ride.”
