Thai football poll deferred

THE Football Association of Thailand (FAT) issued a statement late yesterday saying the upcoming election for a new president will be postponed – with no new date given. This follows president Worawi Makudi being suspended late on Monday from football activity for 90 days by Fifa’s Ethics Committee. 

The FAT decision was made following discussions with relevant parties including Fifa representatives in order to ensure fairness for everyone involved.

The statement said the association’s board would convene a meeting to postpone its presidential election, initially set for Saturday, and will forward the resolution to Fifa’s emergency committee for approval.

If the election is postponed for more than three months Worawi may be able to run as head of the Thai football association – if cleared by Fifa.

Earlier yesterday, Fifa official James Johnson reiterated that Worawi would not be allowed to take part in any football-related activities for 90 days. But Johnson stopped short of giving a clear answer about whether the FAT could stage its election this weekend.

Worawi, 63, became the latest casualty of the ongoing corruption investigation at the scandal-plagued organisation after Fifa chief Sepp Blatter and Uefa president Michel Platini received similar suspensions last week.

In a statement posted on its website, Fifa said that Worawi was suspended from all football-related activities at both national and international levels for 90 days with immediate effect. However, it did not reveal the specific charge for which he was suspended, saying only that the Ethics Committee was officially investigating the case.

The sanctions against Worawi may not have ramifications on the same scale as those of the other two prominent Fifa figures, but it has serious ramifications for Thai football.

Johnson, who came to Bangkok to monitor Saturday’s vote, said: “As far as we’re concerned, he has been temporarily suspended by the Fifa Ethics Committee. They’re the independent body so we don’t have any other information.” 

“Obviously, he is unable to take part in any activities as stated by the committee’s decision. It’s only the initial measure so he remains innocent and has been suspended for 90 days.”

Worawi, who is no stranger to controversy, appeared firmly intent on running for re-election despite the Fifa ban. “I have no clue why Fifa issued such a suspension order, which considerably defames my reputation. It [suspension] may be just like that of Michel Platini, who continues to do his business as usual at Uefa,” he said.

“Tomorrow I’ll call Fifa to ask the Ethics Committee what I should do next. But we must understand that this Fifa order is not a final ruling. So, I will assign the legal team to send a petition to Fifa immediately. Under Thai law, this case is not over yet. I’m still entitled to do business with regard to internal affairs.”

Earlier, Sakol Wannapong, governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand, had deemed Worawi no longer eligible to stand in the FAT election as a result of the Fifa move and he said the vote should go ahead as planned.

“The FAT should stage the election as scheduled. As for Worawi’s qualification, I think he is ineligible to stand in the poll because Fifa’s ban has immediate effect. If he is allowed to participate, he needs to make an appeal in time before Saturday. Then, it will be up to the association’s electoral committee to consider if he can stand in the election.”

Asked what will happen if Worawi insists on standing in the election, Sakol said: “That will not be good for the country because Fifa could possibly sanction the FAT since it went against its order.”

 

A series of allegations

Pol Lt-General Pisan Jundilok, one of two challengers running against Worawi for the FAT presidency, said the FAT boss should temporarily take a leave of absence for his own good.

In his eight-year reign, Worawi has faced a series of allegations of misconduct. In 2011, he was accused by Lord Triesman, chairman of the English Football Association, of being one of four Fifa executive committee members who sought favours in exchange for his vote during the World Cup bidding in December, 2010.

However, Worawi was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing after Fifa found no evidence to support Triesman’s claim that he allegedly asked for money for the TV rights of a proposed friendly between Thailand and England that did not take place.

A year later, he was caught in a maelstrom of allegations when South Korean company, Dae-Un 21, accused him of failing to honour its contract with the FAT to allow them to oversee the association’s commercial benefits. Worawi had barely enough time to catch his breath when he was accused of using football-development grants from Fifa to develop his own land. He had to present the title deeds to the media to show that he had donated the land to the FAT.

Controversy appeared to follow after he won his fourth consecutive term as FAT president in 2013. He soon faced a lawsuit filed by minor league club Pattaya FC, which accused him of forgery ahead of the vote. The Criminal Court took nearly two years to give its ruling on the case but found Worawi guilty and handed him a two-year suspended jail term, which was reduced to one year and four months as it was his first conviction.