One of the organisers for the friendly football match between Spanish giants FC Barcelona and the Malaysian national team on Saturday had blamed the tight security enforced in the stadium on the visiting Barcelona side.

BSC Soccer Malaysia Sdn Bhd, whose security personnel had been accused of demanding money from fans who have already paid for their tickets and not allowing journalists to enter the mixed zone, among others, claimed that the tight security was upon the request of Barcelona.

“Our rules were strict and whatever the security officers did were as per instructions from FC Barcelona,” New Straits Times quoted the company’s managing director Effendi Jagan Abdullah as saying.

Effendi also defended the conduct of his staff, who also allegedly attempted to assault a journalist, claiming that “the public shouted vulgar words (at security personnel)”.

Effendi was also quoted as saying that none of his staff had demanded money from fans before they were allowed to take their seats.

He however apologised “for any shortcomings on our part”.