by Prasert Srisueb
1st September, 1998
Did you witness the farcical soccer match between defending champions Thailand and Indonesia on Monday night? The match was the final Group A match of the ongoing Tiger Cup, the biennial Southeast Asian soccer tournament, which is being played in Vietnam. The match was televised live throughout the region. During the game, both sides quickly made it clear that they didn't want to win -- because the winner of the match would also take the group, and that meant facing the host country's team in Wednesday's semifinal before a mad crowd on Vietnam's National Day.
Of course, no one likes to play the host country at any time, particularly in the advanced stages of a tournament and even more specifially on a daywhen patriotism is at its zenith. Furthermore, Vietnamese soccer fans are considered some of the most rabid in the world. A number of Vietnamese league matches have had to cancelled because of fan violence. When Vietnam were beaten 4-0 by Thailand in the 1995 SEA Games soccer final angry fans in Vietnam took to the streets and rioted. So it makes sense that Indonesia and Thailand were none too eager to meet Vietnam. But that does not excuse what happened in Monday's match.
The sight of two teams allowing each other to score and generally acting as if competing was the furthest thing from their minds should never happen again on the soccer pitch.
As I watched the match on television and witnessed the sluggish first half, I started comparing the fans of soccer and Muay Thai boxing. I sympathise with soccer fans who pay for tickets hoping to see an entertaining game. Pity them for turning up to a match where neither side wanted to win! Fans understandably began to walk out of the stadium. Who is responsible when a match sinks to this level?
Will the Asean Football Fedetation (AFF) take responsibility for the money spent by fans? Or should the world governing body of the sport, the International Football Federation ( Fifa) step in?
In Muay Thai, if the boxers fix a bout or even are seen to be fighting without their utmost effort, the referee can cancel the bout and both boxers are banned. Boxing fans are thus guaranteed entertainment.Why should not soccer fans receive this guarantee?
This is a very difficult problem for both the AFF and Fifa. It is not easy, but I think at least the governing bodies, and especially Fifa, should start thinking of ways to prevent a repetition of this sort of thing.
I don't feel much shame about what the Thai and Indonesian players did. They did it because there was a loophole in the rules and regulations of the sport's governing body, so it is time for Fifa to think more about the rules. However, there was one thing that I was disappointed in: Thailand was beaten in cleverness by Indonesia.
Thailand won the game 3-2, but in the battle of nerves and cleverness it was Indonesia that beat Thailand. They put the ball into their own goal at the last minute to force Thailand to face an uphill task against Vietnam in the semifinal. That meant they won the battle. Thailand could have done the same, but unfortunately our players were not clever enough, especially skipper Voravuth Srimaka, who booted the ball off the field in the last two minutes of the game, whereas he should have kept the ball under the control of the Thai team until time was called. When he booted the ball off the field, it meant that possession went to Indonesia, giving them the chance to score the own goal and give Thailand a 3-2 victory.
I am not trying to support our players in this shameful thing, but the result of the match shows the poor state of our players' mentality.
ENTIRE THAI SOCCER TEAM OFFERS TO QUIT
by The Nation
September, 1998
As the Tiger Cup row continues to simmer, the entire Thai national team has offered to quit to 'pay the price'' for its farcical first-round match against Indonesia that rocked the international soccer apple-cart. In an unprecedented move, team captain Natee Thongsukkaew yesterday invited journalists to a attend a team meeting and to ''speak on behalf of the team'' in Ho Chi Minh City.
Natee and other members of the national team that finished fourth in the Tiger Cup after losing to Indonesia in a penalty shoot-out in the third-place play-off yesterday said the players felt ''equally responsible'' for the team's failure at the tournament. Thailand entered the Tiger Cup as the hot favourite to defend the title they had captured in Singapore two years ago.
''We [the players] realise that we failed to deliver at the tournament and have let down the Thai football fans, especially in the match against Indonesia.''
The bizarre match in Ho Chi Minh City ended with Thailand winning 3-2 after Indonesia put the ball into their own net just before the final whistle. Neither side had wanted to travel to Hanoi to meet the Vietnamese hosts in the semifinals. Thailand suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat in the semifinals at the hands of Vietnam, a team which had not beaten the reigning SEA Games champions over several decades until Friday.
Widespread condemnation at home and abroad forced team manager Thirachai Vuthitham, a Bangkok deputy governor, who did not accompany the team to the Tiger Cup, into offering his resignation.
Natee said: ''The players have been extremely perturbed by the criticism from the Thai fans and media. ''The team manager has shown spirit to shoulder the responsibility for the team's performance and has offered to quit. Individuals should not be blamed: let everyone pay the price. ''We have heard that the team management faces the axe upon our return to Bangkok. In case the association decides to sack the team manager, coaches and others, I'll also quit the national team.''
As Natee finished speaking, other members of the squad present at the meeting raised their hands, signalling solidarity with their skipper and that they would follow suit.
Thirachai, who arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday evening, spoke with the players yesterday. There were tears in his eyes as he apologised to them for not travelling with the team, citing indisposition as his reason for staying behind. ''I have decided to resign to relieve the team of pressure, and there are no political motives behind my decision,' said Thirachai. ''The players did what they were told by the team administration.''
Kasem Chanyawong, the deputy manager who looked after the team affairs in Thirachai's absence, said he was not too confident about his future association with the team. ''I would complete one year with the national team on Oct 28, but I am not sure if I will last that long,'' said Kasem.
The latest twist has left the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) at a crossroads. The technical committee of the association has already recommended to the FAT board that entire panel of national team coaches be replaced. The FAT board meets on Tuesday to consider Thirachai's resignation and the technical committee's recommendation. With the Bangkok Asian Games exactly three months away, Thailand could be required to build up a brand new team if the technical committee's recommendation is upheld and the players stand firm to their words.
Both Thailand and Indonesia were fined the maximum US$40,000 each on Friday by the Asean Football Federation (AFF) for failing to play to win the match. Worawi Makudee, secretary general of FAT, indicated that Thailand would seek to have the fines reduced by an appeals committee comprising Malaysia and two representatives each from Brunei and Cambodia, the two AFF members who did not compete at the Tiger Cup. Further sanctions could come when the Asian Football Confederation meets on Sept 11 in Kuala Lumpur.
Both the Tiger Cup organising committee and the match commissioner will submit reports on the match. Meanwhile Indonesia has decided to pull its national soccer team out of the Bangkok Asian Games after it was disgraced for throwing the game, newspapers said yesterday.
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