A former national youth footballer, who is also the son of a former decorated national player, has been banned for eight months from all Football Association of Singapore (FAS) sanctioned and organised tournaments.
On 30 November, in a disciplinary update posted by the national football body, it was announced that Ribiyanda Saswadimata of Mattar Sailors FC will not just face the eight-month ban, but he will also have to pay a $500 fine for two counts of “bringing the game into disrepute”.
Ribiyanda is a former national youth footballer and is the son of Saswadimata Dasuki (photo below), a former Lion who was a member of the 1994 Malaysia Cup and League double-winning side.
Fans who have been following local football will remember him from the 2013 Lion City Cup, where he starred alongside the likes of Irfan Fandi and Adam Hakeem.
WHAT HAPPENED
According to the information posted on the FAS website, which said that the disciplinary panel was convened three times in November alone, Ribiyanda faced two counts of bringing the game into disrepute during an FA Cup match on 15 October between Mattar Sailors and Singapore Xin Hua FC.
In the first charge, Ribiyanda was accused of directing abusive language at the match referee by shouting an explicit profanity in the 90th minute of the match which was held at the Jurong East Stadium.
The second charge is more serious, as he was accused of deliberately throwing a can of 100 Plus which was unopened, at the fourth official.
In another case, former national player Ismadi Mukhtar, who was representing Warwick Knights FC, has also been banned from participating in all FAS sanctioned and organised football events for 18 months, and was also slapped with a $1,000 fine.
For Ismadi, he was accused of violent conduct by grabbing the referee’s jersey which caused it to get torn during a Singapore Football League 1 match between Warwick Knights and Yishun Sentek Mariners on 29 July at the Yishun Stadium.
He was also accused of splashing water at the match referee after being shown a red card.
MAIN PHOTOS: YOUTUBE/100PLUS
