Visiting stars of the English Premier League were taken aback by Singapore’s choking haze Thursday which shrouded skyscrapers and sent air pollution rocketing to record levels.
“Haze alert!!!!” tweeted Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, one of nearly 20 current and former players and managers appearing in the city-state for a promotional event.
“Without the haze this hotel could quite possibly have the most breathtaking views. What a shame!” he added.
Ferdinand, Stoke City’s Peter Crouch and Liverpool greats Ian Rush and Robbie Fowler were among the players who took schoolchildren through their paces at a towering casino-hotel in the city centre.
The visit was unfortunately timed with Singapore enveloped in acrid haze from forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia which triggered “hazardous” levels of pollution and the Southeast Asian city-state’s worst air quality on record.
“Today’s been good so far. It would’ve been nice if it wasn’t so hazy. But other than the haze it’s all been very, very good,” Ferdinand said.
Ex-England goalkeeper David Seaman, who last visited Singapore well before the city developed its marina skyline, added: “Well, I don’t know it any other way! I’ve never seen (the skyline) clear!”
The event foreshadowed pre-season Asian tours by several top European clubs, with Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Barcelona all visiting the Indonesian capital Jakarta or haze-hit Singapore or Kuala Lumpur.
Premier League stars reel from Singapore haze
