The match-fixing scandal surrounding the Thaicom FA Cup final match in November may have caused some surprise in the country, which has struggled with the problem for so long, but what came as a bigger shock was the Thai FA's lack of clear procedures to combat the "cancer" in football.
The ghost of match fixing returned to haunt Thai football at the beginning of last week when Toshimitsu Yoshida, the Japanese referee in charge of the game between Buriram United and Army United, reported he was approached by unknown persons to rig the result of the match, which Buriram won 2-1.
The revelation by the Japanese, who himself was no stranger to controversy after he received a suspension in 2005 for wrongly awarding a penalty in a World Cup qualifier, was the first case in many years to seriously threaten the sport's integrity in the country.
Despite the grave nature of the allegation, and the fact it happened in a high-profile match with not only the trophy but also the AFC Champions League play-off spot at stake, there appeared to be no urgency from the Thai FA in handling the case. A week has already gone but there was no significant progress in the investigation into the alleged match-fixing attempt that Yoshida reported to Asian football's governing body. Such was the lax handing of the case by the Football Association of Thailand that it remained unclear who would take charge of the investigation. In the past, we have seen many national football associations reacting immediately to that kind of allegation, but the Thai FA is one of the very few which appears unsure whether it should start the probe by itself.
Rather than using the opportunity to restore his credibility, which was severely affected by his poor management of the association, and acting decisively on the issue, Thai FA boss Worawi Makudi opted to discuss it with the AFC and Interpol officials first at a seminar about the match-fixing problem in Malaysia before considering the next move.
The conference at the AFC headquarters finished on Thursday but no one knows what is up the sleeve of Worawi or the AFC. It looks like the FAT would leave it to the AFC to lead the investigation into Yoshida's claims that he was asked to officiate in favour of one of the two sides.
If the association thought that would be appropriate because the Japanese reported it to the AFC, it would look ridiculous because the incident has caused considerable damage to the reputation of Thai football as a whole. So it should be for us to clear the allegation.
There is no need for Thai FA to look further than countries in the region, which set an example with decisive action against match fixing. Both South Korea and China earned widespread praise for their concerted efforts in tackling the menace in recent years, which saw dozens of players and officials in both countries suspended for life for manipulating results. The FAT should also be aware that as long as the scandal is left unsettled, it would only add fuel to the speculation that the allegation, which came more than two months after the match at Supachalasai Stadium, was just a political ploy ahead of the election due to take place in June.
It is expected that Worawi would face fierce competition in the election from the opposition group led by Newin Chidchob, the Buriram United president, who has clashed with the FAT boss on many an occasion in recent years. That led many to believe the story was just an attempt to discredit his opposing side preparing to field a candidate to challenge the incumbent for the hot seat
Newin came up with what seemed a reasonable explanation when he said that only the association knew who would take charge of the game, so there was no question of his side contacting the official before the match.
To shed light on the scandal, much now depends on how Worawi would handle the case. In fact, it is directly linked to his competence in the job.
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Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2013/02/25/competence-of-worawi-at-stake-in-the-scandal/
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