Royal rage after Malaysia drubbing

KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 (Reuters) Malaysian soccer fans received a royal apology after their team were thrashed 5-1 by China in their Asian Cup Group C opener on Tuesday.

Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, a member of the royal family for the state of Pahang and deputy president of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), was angered by the national team's inept performance.

''I apologise to all the spectators and want to shake their hands,'' he was quoted as saying by Bernama yesterday. ''I am truly disappointed about the shocking display by the national football squad against China.'' Malaysia were the only one of the four Asian Cup host nations who flopped in their opening matches. Thailand drew 1-1 with Iraq, Vietnam beat United Arab Emirates 2-0 and Indonesia upset Bahrain 2-1.

Tengku Abdullah said coach Norizan Bakar should take responsibility for the team's performance.

''The coach has the power to choose the players and he should know better,'' he said. ''Only the coach and the players will be able to say what happened. I was also a spectator.'' REUTERS BJR RN1924