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An S-League match was embarrassingly abandoned on Monday night -- even before the game kicked off. The scheduled clash between Hougang United and league champions Etoile Football Club at the Hougang Stadium gave way to a brawl between 30 to 40 players during the pre-match warm-up. This is the first time in S-League's 16-year history that a match had to be called off due to disciplinary issues. Witnesses told The Straits Times that the melee was sparked by an Etoile player venturing into the side of the field where Hougang players were stretching. This was 15 minutes before the 7.30pm kick-off. A heated exchange ensued, which quickly turned ugly. "The entire Hougang team, around 20 of them, surrounded this guy and there was a lot of shouting and shoving," one fan, who was in his 30s, told the paper. "There were no punches thrown, but the Etoile player's bib was torn," he added. According to an official who declined to be named, Etoile players ran from their side of the pitch within 20 seconds to aid their team mate. The crowd of 300 then witnessed security and team officials quickly dashing onto the field to try to separate the jostling players. After discussions with referee Muhammad Taqi, match commissioner A. Raamasamy decided to call off the match for safety reasons. The altercation lasted two minutes, but the chaos boiled over off the pitch. Australian freelance journalist Paul Green, 62, said, "The Hougang players were chased by their Etoile counterparts, who jumped over advertising boards and barriers. They (Etoile) had to again be restrained by their team officials." An Etoile player, who wanted to remain anonymous, accused Hougang captain Shariff Abdul Samat of kicking Etoile reserve goalkeeper Hadama Bathily. It is understood that nobody required medical treatment or were taken to the hospital. Monday night's brawl brings back memories of the fight between Young Lions and Beijing Guoan players eight months ago, which resulted in lengthy bans and stiff fines for 16 players. Hougang and the French club have had a history of bad blood between them. In a fiery encounter in March, a verbal spat ensued after the final whistle, resulting in a shoving match that lasted about five minutes. Newly-elected MP for Hougang, Yaw Shin Leong, was present at the match in Hougang Stadium as the guest of honour. The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) issued a gag order for players and officials of both sides. There were about 100 fans outside the stadium who were denied entry, while those inside were advised to leave. Etoile players were jeered by fans who lingered outside the stadium as the team boarded the bus at around 8pm. FAS deputy director of competitions and marketing Ridzal Saat called the fracas a "very unfortunate incident". S-League chief executive Winston Lee said a full investigation would be launched and any party found guilty would be severely dealt with. Source:http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/league-match-abandoned-due-players-brawl-040403157.html