Malaysia were playing Saudi Arabia a week after suffering a record 10-0 defeat

Crowd trouble halts Malaysia v Saudi Arabia World Cup qualifier

A World Cup qualifier between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia was abandoned just before full-time on Tuesday because of crowd trouble.

Visitors Saudi Arabia were winning the Group A Asian qualifier 2-1 at Shaha Alam Stadium when flares and fireworks were thrown on to the pitch.

Malaysia suffered a record 10-0 defeat by the United Arab Emirates last week.

That loss, which left them bottom of their group, led to Dollah Salleh resigning as head coach.

Interim coach Ong Kim Swee had urged fans not to disrupt the game in protest at the UAE result.

The game was abandoned after flares and fireworks were thrown on to the pitch in the 87th minute

Meanwhile, Syria – who are playing all their games away from home because of the civil war in the country – won their third straight World Cup qualifying match on Tuesday, beating Cambodia 6-0 in Phnom Penh.

Syria, who have scored 13 goals without conceding any, are top of Group E with nine points. The country has never qualified for a World Cup.