Brunei fined for AFC Challenge Cup pullout

MANILA, Philippines - For withdrawing at the last minute from the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup group qualifiers that the Philippines hosted and the Azkals won at Rizal Memorial Football Stadium last March, Brunei has been slapped a fine of $5,000 by the Asian body.

Brunei was supposed to join the Azkals, Turkmenistan and Cambodia in Group E but begged off from participation just a day before hostilities due to what it called “unavoidable circumstances.” The AFC Disciplinary Committee announced the fine on the Sultanate only recently.

“We accept the decision made by the AFC for our last minute-withdrawal from the AFC Challenge Cup Group E qualifiers,” National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam deputy president Pehin Datu Indera Sugara Brigadier General Dato Paduka Mohammad Yusof Abu Bakar said in a report on the Asean Football Federation website.

 â€œWe will have to face it and will pay the fine as soon as possible. We have to agree with the decision made by the AFC Disciplinary Committee. I hope that we can improve in the future and will be able to better plan and prepare ourselves in the coming tournaments.”

The Azkals eventually topped the three-nation group with six points built around an 8-0 win over Cambodia and a 1-0 triumph over Turkmenistan and advanced to the Challenge Cup’s main tournament in 2014 in Maldives.

In its buildup for the Challenge Cup, the Azkals are set to face Hong Kong in an international friendly on June 4. They were also initially set to play Kyrgyzstan in another road friendly four days after that but the Philippine Football Federation was forced to call it off due to “logistical concerns.”