Surawut to look into votes from Division Two clubs
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Admiral Surawut Maharom, the chairman of the Fifa-appointed normalisation committee, said he would look into the origin of 30 votes from third-tier Division Two clubs as he began his work to oversee the Football Association of Thailand's presidential elec
On Friday, the football’s world governing body Fifa acted decisively by removing the FAT executive board, deeming its mandate had expired following the postponement of the election originally scheduled at the weekend.
Subsequently, the sport’s ruling body decided to appoint the normalisation committee chaired by Surawut to take care the vote, which was deferred as a result of incumbent Worawi Makudi’s provisional suspension from football for 90 days by Fifa’s ethics committee last week.
Fifa stated that the new date for the election must not be later than February 15.
After spending time in reviewing rules concerning the sport association’s election at the Sports Authority of Thailand yesterday, Surawut said he would not intervene in the management of the trouble-hit association.
“The [normalisation] committee has duties as entitled by Fifa. I’ll do my job, not meddle in the work of others. I never do that. I’ve been in sports circle for a long time and I don’t want to take away powers of anyone.
“I hope everyone will keep doing their job. The secretary general now took over the running of the FAT as stated by the rules. I will not stick my nose into that matter.
“As for the work of the committee, we’ll try to convene a meeting as soon as possible to set up a timetable for the job as well as verify each club’s qualification to see whether they have the [voting] right. As far as I am concerned, no Fifa rules contradicted with the Thai law. But, in case we need to make an amendment to the regulations, we’ll call a meeting with member clubs as quickly as possible.
“I hope everything will be completed in 45 days and before the vote. Nevertheless, there are complaints that needs to be corrected such as the 30 votes from Division Two clubs. If we let them [Division Two clubs] choose their representatives eligible to vote, we need to see how it could be conducted transparently and without any lobbying,” said Surawut.
