limbo Posted February 2, 2007 Report Share Posted February 2, 2007 Thailand could get the boot Thailand could be kicked out of the Asean Football Championship for their protest against a penalty that helped Singapore gain a 2-1 home victory in the first leg of the final on Wednesday. Emotions are running high in Thailand after fans saw the three-time champions go down in a controversial defeat. The score was tied at 1-1 when Malaysian referee C Ravichandran awarded a highly debatable penalty to Singapore with eight minutes remaining after Noh Alam Shah went down in the box under a challenge from defender Niweat Siriwong - a decision that even seemed to surprise the Singaporean forward. Thai fans and players felt the referee made several dubious decisions in favour of the hosts. In one incident, the referee awarded Thailand a free kick but bizarrely measured the 10-yard distance from the wall instead of the set-piece spot as usual. Thailand had already been angered by other decisions of the referee, and their protest over the penalty caused the match to be suspended for about 15 minutes after their players walked off the pitch. Thailand team manager Tawat-chai Sajjakul is convinced his side will not receive any punishment when the Asean Football Federation (AFF) discusses the issue in its meeting today. "I think we did nothing wrong, because the protest was in accordance with AFF regulations. The rules state the game can be stopped when any team protests but not for more than 15 minutes," said Tawatchai. "The lads camped on the sidelines before they returned to the field in a period of time that I think was not more than the limit. "We held the protest because if we had let play continue at that time, there was a high possibility the situation would escalate. We wanted to take a pause in order to make our players calm down. "I don't think the AFF will punish us with a suspension for any of my players. If they want to hand punishment to us, they'll have to ban our whole team from the second leg, because we were all involved in the protest. "Should they really ban us, it looks certain they'll have to do it to other teams in the future, because I think there will be other cases just like ours. "There is a high possibility the tournament would come to an end. There would be no point in holding the event if such punishments continually happened." The Nation 02/02/07 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted February 2, 2007 Report Share Posted February 2, 2007 Is the Junta planning a Coupe against the Asean Football Championship? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limbo Posted February 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2007 'I thought referee was going to book me' The Singaporean football player who was awarded a penalty thinks the spot kick should not have been given, as he makes a revelation: Noh Alam Shah, the Singapore striker awarded a controversial penalty fiercely protested at by the Thai squad, has admitted he thinks the spot kick should not have been given. The foul led to Singapore scoring the decisive goal in an ill-tempered Asean Football Championship final first leg. Wednesday's heated contest ended dramatically after Malaysian referee C Ravichandran awarded the disputed penalty eight minutes from time. The hosts converted to take a 2-1 advantage into Sunday's second leg in Bangkok. Alam Shah tumbled in the box as he and Thailand defender Niweat Siriwong jostled for the ball from a left-side free kick. Alam Shah appeared to fall accidentally. The referee's decision plunged the game into turmoil. The Thai players vociferously protested and walked off for about 15 minutes. "I was stunned. I did not expect a penalty," Alam Shah is quoted in Singapore's Straits Times yesterday. "When I first saw the referee walking towards me I thought he was going to book me," he said. Alam Shah would have missed Sunday's leg if he had been yellow-carded. The penalty also surprised Alam Shah's team mates. Shahril Ishak, near Alam Shah when he went down, said: "I was preparing to go back to my own half, because I thought a free-kick would be given to the Thais." Nigerian-born defender Precious Emuejeraye agreed: "I thought the referee was going to book Alam Shah for a foul." "I was surprised when he pointed to the spot instead," said the burly centre-half. The Asean Football Championship second-leg showdown between Thailand and defending champions Singapore will go ahead as scheduled, but the Thai team still faces possible action for its protest from the Asean Football Federation (AFF), which meets tomorrow. The AFF is examining match-commissioner and referee-inspector reports of a game tainted by dubious decisions. Once the regional body delivers its decision to the Asian Football Confederation the latter will decide if there will be further action. The controversial first-leg result has served only to stir up emotion in Thailand amid growing bad-blood between the two countries following the diplomatic spat over a recent visit by ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to the city-state. A hostile atmosphere is expected in Bangkok, and the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) will beef up security at the game. FAT honorary life president Chaiyapak Siriwat said 500 security officers would be present. He insisted Thailand would do its utmost to prevent incidents before, during and after the game. Special attention will be given to the safety of Singapore's players and travelling fans. "The second leg has become a volatile issue which we must handle carefully, considering every aspect. I would like Thai fans to be good hosts," Chaiyapak said. "What's done is done. We don't want the second match to end in the same manner. Player morale is good, and I believe we will win and win in a manner Thai fans can be proud of. "Given the performance we gave in the first game, I'm convinced we are better than they are," said Chaiyapak. However, reports in Singapore suggest fans there are worried about the uproar in this country and have cancelled travel plans. The dust has yet to settle. A report in Thai-language newspaper Siam Sport claimed the result had been fixed so Singapore could profit from bets and fund multibillion-dollar sports developments as its prepares for a 2014 Commonwealth Games bid. Sports Desk The Nation 03/02/07 The 2nd game will be live on Thai TV tomorrow, Sunday 04/02/07 at 20.00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted February 3, 2007 Report Share Posted February 3, 2007 Just took a look at Sammyboy's Singaporean board. Interestingly, the Sing guys' reactions are that there was indeed no foul and the Malaysian ref must have been bribed. Still, some didn't think the Thai walkout was "sportsmanlike". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limbo Posted February 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2007 The Thai walkout was silly, can only get them in trouble. IMHO it was no foul neither. Makes for an interesting game tomorrow. Thai news just showed loads of agitated Thais who can't get a ticket. Why don't they support their local teams as fanatic? They only tend to come out for their national team and normally not in such big quantities as tomorrow. An option may be to change venue to a bigger stadium, like the big Ramkanghaeng stadium instead of the National Stadium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neo Posted February 3, 2007 Report Share Posted February 3, 2007 At first glance I thought it was stupid and unsportsmanlike what they did. But now it would seem the ref in question has a history of making bad calls against them and that was key to the ruckus. What are the players to do, just watch as the game they so desperately want to win given away to the other team? So the Sing striker thought he was going to get booked, but instead was given a penalty late in a tie game. This is as blatant as it can get. It doesn't look good what the Thai team did, but I now can't blame them for frustration getting the better of them after understanding the circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaad Posted February 3, 2007 Report Share Posted February 3, 2007 Understand their action but it sure is very silly and unprofessional. Those singaporeans played very hard and that Thais were more the team that tried to play football. Ref should've been way stricter but he condoned the shit so that Thais freaked out when they were penalized with a penalty for absolutely nothing. Hope they win tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limbo Posted February 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2007 D-DAY TODAY More than 1,000 infuriated football fans denied tickets to today's Asean Football Championship final between Thailand and Singapore protested at the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) yesterday. All hope is not lost, however, because Singapore fans cancelling their trips have returned almost 2,000 tickets. They go on sale at the stadium at 10am today. Many Singapore fans decided not to travel to Thailand because of fears of reprisals following last Wednesday's controversial result. Outraged football fanatics mobbed FAT headquarters inside Supachalasai National Stadium compound yesterday after tickets sold out in just a couple of hours. They claimed scalpers had purchased blocks of tickets and were selling them at extortionate prices outside the stadium and nearby Mah Boonkrong Centre. "The association should have predicted this and prevented it. We came here so early ... waiting for hours, only to find all the tickets gone. Purchases should have been limited for each buyer,'' said protest leader Wimon Thongruengsuksai. He attacked the FAT and its president Vijit Ketkaew, demanding his sacking. The angry crowd demanded explanations, but officials refused to appear, and the FAT offices remained locked. Police had to restrain angry fans trying to break in. Around 29,000 tickets costing between Bt100 and Bt300 went on sale at 9am yesterday and had disappeared by 11am. Queues longer than a kilometre formed from dawn, and some fans arrived at the stadium at 3am. "I arrived from Chon Buri at 4am, and I still didn't get a ticket. This happened to me for the semi-final match with Vietnam,'' one fan complained. Scalpers were reportedly charging four times face value, and some tickets were being offered at Bt1,300. Later in the afternoon more than a hundred fans gathered at Pathum Wan police station complaining of FAT injustice. Police said it was the biggest crowd in the area for three years. There were no reports of violence. FAT honorary life president Chaiyapak Siriwat said he had advised the Bureau of Sports Development to impose a ticket quota but had been ignored. The bureau is in charge of ticket sales. The stadium is now more than 70 years old and can seat just 30,000. Chaiyapak encouraged those who could not get tickets to watch the game on a giant screen at the adjacent Thephassadin Stadium. The second leg of the final between Thailand and Singapore kicks off at 7pm today. Thailand lost to the Lions 2-1 last week in a controversial away tie. It was highlighted by a 15-minute suspension of play as the Thai team stormed off the pitch following the awarding of a contentious penalty to the hosts. Today will see 600 police deployed around the stadium. Police warned fans to behave before, during and after the match. Metropolitan police deputy commissioner Maj-General Kamol Kaewsuwan said troublemakers would be detained. Anything that can be used as a weapon, even plastic bottles of drinking water, will be confiscated. Metal- and explosives-detectors have been installed at entrances. Plain-clothes police will be on duty inside and outside the stadium. Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont called on all fans to show good sportsmanship and accept the result whatever it was. Lerpong Amsa-ngiam The Nation 04/02/07 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted February 4, 2007 Report Share Posted February 4, 2007 And also ... Football saga imitates real life Singapore's dodgy soccer win fires talk of eavesdropping, use of foreign nominees Even Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont was curious to know whether Temasek United Football Club had used underhand tactics to win the first leg of the Asean Football Championship. The Thai national team lost 2-1 to the Temasek team in a highly emotionally charged atmosphere. "Were we cheated?" the PM asked reporters yesterday. He had missed the match broadcast from Singapore on Wednesday night. The latest clash between Thailand and Singapore has turned into a political issue. It comes hot on the heels of deteriorating relations, with the Kingdom suspecting that Singapore is now able to listen in on its calls because the former prime minister sold control of ShinSat, the sole national satellite company, and the country's biggest mobile-phone firm (AIS) last year to Temasek Holdings, a state investment firm in the city-state. Army chief and coup leader Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin voiced concern that Thai military information was no longer secure because control of key telecommunications firms had been lost with the controversial Shin deal. "You pick up the phone and it goes to Singapore," he reportedly remarked. The military installed government is also afraid that the sale of ShinSat might enhance Singapore's capacity to eavesdrop on calls here. Premier Surayud said they were looking into whether Thailand may be able to buy back control of the firm or if a new satellite needs to be launched. The joke going around the Thai team is that their game plan might have been "discovered" by their opponents prior to the match. After all, how come the Singaporeans knew that Thai star Kiatisak Senamuang would be absent from the game? And how did the Singaporeans players know just to mark Thai midfielder Dassakorn Thonglao, who became the most frequently fouled play by his opponents? Mmm ...... Well, the loss was not entirely attributed to Malaysian referee C Ravichandran's decision to award that hotly disputed penalty to Singapore with just nine minutes remaining. Was the referee, like Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the former Malaysian leader, just trying to drive a wedge further between Thailand and Singapore, knowing the penalty would drive us nuts? A more deserving question may be how the Singaporeans managed to respond so well to our game plan. But, what's done is done. The Thai team lost and Thai football fans are now left hoping their team can win the second leg on their home turf - on Sunday. Looking around the pitch though, the Thai national team won't enjoy a huge advantage in the second leg as the physique of the Singaporeans suggests they're in a different league. Although the title of the tournament described it as a competition for the Asean region, the appearance of some Singaporean players conjured up an image of nominees - as they seem to come from all over the world. Take the Caucasian-looking guy with the pierced-nose - the tall Mustafic Fahrudin, who scored their winning goal. Fahrudin, formerly Serbian, rewarded his adopted country handsomely with victory from the penalty spot. In fact, Fahrudin is far from the only nationalised player for Singapore. Exceptional skill was not the factor that made Precious Emuejeraye stand out from the crowd. Emuejeraye is black, originally from Nigeria, and towered over everyone on the pitch. Daniel Bennett is not Singapore-born either - but another imported player from the UK wearing Singaporean colours. A fourth - Si Jia Yi - was once Chinese, but is now Singaporean. These players were influential in providing the backbone for their team's performance. Temasek Holdings has been accused by some of using Thai nominees to acquire control of Shin Corp on behalf of foreigners. And when it comes to football, the Singaporean team has shown the world it can use foreign "nominees" to improve its playing strength. There is nothing wrong with this. But the next challenge for Temasek is how to truly nationalise Shin Corp without being caught using local nominees. Or maybe that's just sour grapes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted February 4, 2007 Report Share Posted February 4, 2007 Drawn match in Bangkok. This means Singapore wins the ASEAN Football Cup because they add in that effed up match in Singapore. Expect lots of Thais to be pissed off ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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