39 goals scored in Macau FA Cup as players protest against World Cup withdrawal

The fans certainly got their money for it during an FA Cup match in Macau on Sunday, after scoring 39 goals – but all was not as it seemed.

Ka I defeated Hang Sai 21-18 in Taca de Macau, China Special Administrative Region.

The players were allowed to score goals unchallenged and, at one point, a goalkeeper went into action and set up the field to score.

Ka I had led 6-5 at halftime and the scoreboard stopped working at 21-17.

It turned out that the players were protesting against the decision of the Macau Football Association to withdraw the national team from a qualifying match at the 2022 World Cup against Sri Lanka for security reasons .

Macao, who led Sri Lanka 1-0 after their first meeting in China, was scheduled to play the return leg in Colombo last Tuesday.

But the Macao federation refused to let the team travel due to recent terrorist attacks in the country and demanded that the match be held in a neutral venue.

"They may not be happy with (the arrangement) of the World Cup qualifiers, and they just showed their displeasure," said Hang Sai's coach at Teledifusao. from Macau.

"They had their own way of expressing their thoughts – the club and I, as a coach, would respect that."

The Macau Football Association told BBC Sport that it was investigating, while both clubs launched internal investigations.

In a statement, Ka apologized and said that they had not been informed of the players' plan in advance.

More than 250 people were killed and 500 others injured in Sri Lanka's bomb attacks on Easter Sunday, but the country's football federation said it "fulfilled all the security conditions" for football.

Macau players have said they want to play in Sri Lanka and have offered not to be held responsible by the FA.

Captain Nicholas Torrao wrote FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation to request that the match be postponed.

"We, the players, are totally annihilated by the cancellation of our return match against Sri Lanka, on their own ground, because of the refusal of our Macau Football Association to travel," he wrote. . "Please, give players a chance to give their heart for this beautiful game."