Thai Football’s Credibility by Peter Reeves: 2017

TPL

Ratchaburi 5-1 Chonburi

Ratchaburi Mitr Phol Stadium

Saturday 8th July, 2017

Attendance: 3,928

Thai Football’s Credibility

by Peter Reeves

I recently read a Tweet that stated the incident involving Ratchaburi and Chonburi at the weekend is a stain on the credibility of Thai football. I’m not sure I fully understand what the author means, because in my view, at least in the three years I have been here, it has no credibility.

The powers that control it admitting they know nothing about football, the technical standards of Thai players in the main not good, tactical awareness of Thai coaches generally incompetent. Terrible attendances, poor business management, officials on the pitch appalling by any standards, customer service to fans in the dark ages, scheduling a farce, play acting babies everywhere and the clubs administered in the main by people who are only interested in themselves and their egos.

Teams that range from Super Power Samut Prakarn, who would struggle to beat the Dog and Duck pub from Shepherds Bush reserve team, to the three alleged best teams, who would stand no chance against English League newcomers, Grimsby Town. There are two teams in Thailand worth watching. Buriram United, for their match toughness, and Bangkok United for their quality.

Stadiums that are in the main glorified community athletics facilities, no appreciation from the communities in which they operate, sponsors who call the business management shots for their own favour and, if that is not all bad enough, jumped up little upstarts parading themselves in the dugouts pretending to the TV and anyone who will cast their eyes upon these ‘special ones’ that they have the faintest input into what is transpiring on the pitch.

Credibility? It has none. In the eyes of Belgian and Dutch friends who work in two of the best academy programs in Europe and have been here to stay with me twice, it’s a joke. They were being polite. They just laughed, and if Thailand’s football authorities would step out of their ivory towers for a minute and see things as they actually are, they would see it themselves. Professional football people laugh at you and your football. The Tweeter also carried on to ask, like many others I read these days, “why do we bother watching this?”. Why indeed!

And now that the hyperbole has quietened down, let’s consider the weekend’s events. I have tried to watch as many different accounts and TV and video angles as possible and there are things that are unclear. As anyone who has played the game at any level knows there is plenty of ‘verbal’ going on. In cricket they call it sledging. Happens all the time. You sit in a dressing room and the coach might say get in his face, ‘have a few words’. Get him thinking about retribution and he’ll not play. Most players are professional and either ignore it or deal with it when the ref isn’t looking or maybe in a 50/50 situation.

There have been some quite notable exceptions of course, Zinedine Zidane at the World Cup Final, Eric Cantona deciding he’d had enough and starting a fight with a spectator at Crystal Palace. What stuff did Cunha have to face. We don’t know, It doesn’t excuse him though, he should know better. What we do know is that as the half time whistle went he was animated. Something had occurred.

A South American, from a region of the world not normally recognized for their controlled behavior in football, in a wound up state. Best avoid him till he calms down. Oh no. Onto the field of play comes some little person who was clearly hell bent on confrontation. Not a good idea, my little friend. And by the way, why are you on the pitch anyway?

But, on he goes. And now we have riled South American footballer versus fragile Thai male ego, who wants to appear the big shot. Words are exchanged and he gets some water in his face. On TV no less. He reacts, doesn’t seem to like water thrown at him, a few handbags exchanged before Cunha is led away. Can you imagine if he’d confronted a Joey Barton or in older days a Tommy Smith or Billy Bremner or a few dozen others like that? He’d still be in intensive care from just the one blow it would have taken.

The next events are blurred. The sight of Cunha charging down the touchline to flatten a couple of stewards, an altercation in the tunnel and more handbags. Cunha’s face covered with blood. Not very edifying at all.

Culprits? There are many, there usually are. But let’s face a few facts here. How many times have we all seen a player, South American or otherwise, end a half flapping his arms around, confronting officials with eyes bulging, screaming blue murder?  Many times. The norm is get him off the pitch into the dressing room and calm him down or if not, take him off. It’s no big deal really. It’s not nice to see and not a good example but we are all human and prone at times to over reaction, and so it was. If at the end of the half there had been no interference externally, would he have just gone down the tunnel, still mad, but back to the dressing room? Probably. So who lit the blue touch paper then?

Our little hero from Ratchaburi, who clearly considers himself an authority on something. He was the instigator of what then transpired. If he hadn’t been there then it is likely nothing would have happened at all, other than some heated verbal, which means nothing. Why was he on the pitch at all? He had no reason to be there. A melee that was completely avoidable, but an event that overshadowed what had been a good Ratchaburi performance and a poor Chonburi effort.

Punishments? Of course.

Thiago Cunha cannot pretend he is an innocent party. A blinding temper we can deal with, but throwing water at people, charging down the touchline to assault people, continuing in the tunnel and appearing to slap someone is just not acceptable.

And where I might add in the midst of all this was Therdsak? Why didn’t he get him by the throat and drag him away, whilst telling the little man from Ratchaburi to ‘vacate the immediate vicinity’. To his detriment he has previous and I looked around and saw video footage of him involved in punching and kicking in another free for all, when he played in India. So, 4 game ban. Two week’s salary fine paid to a local Ratchaburi orphanage or something similar. A warning that if it happens again the penalties will be more severe. All these ‘get him out of Thailand’ comments by some on the internet are rubbish.

Chonburi FC: 1 million baht fine for failure to control their players and a three point deduction.

The man from Ratchaburi. He has previous too. Video footage exists of him again encroaching on the field of play, ‘shouldering’ opposition players, deliberately confrontational to opposition players. This is not acceptable. So, Banned from the dugout for the rest of the season. A nationally published written censure from the Thai PL. A warning that any further such incidents of him or any other staff member, non coaching or medical, encroaching onto the field of play will incur a life ban for the individual concerned. Further incidents may involve demotion to a lower league depending on the situation. It is not acceptable that any club official acts in a threatening and confrontational way to players, or officials of another club, as he has done.

Ratchaburi FC: 2 million baht fine for a club official assaulting an opposition player. 3 points deduction.

Match officials: Immediate suspension for avoiding their responsibilities and running away from a volatile situation, shuffled away by stewards or not.

Suspensions effective immediately. Fines paid in full within one month. No public displays of sorrow or apologies acceptable (Ratchaburi held a press conference and the individual concerned made a public apology earlier today - Ed).

This has been a very bad situation but one that could have been diffused quite easily, but for external interference. Let’s hope that all learn a lesson.