Satun penalty well deserved

The three-year ban against Satun United after their fans attacked match officials last weekend is a steep price to pay for the football team. The severity of the sanction, however, should remind everyone of how important it is to play by the rules. The regional league game between Satun and Khon Kaen turned ugly after the home team lost 1-0 in a match last Sunday.

Hundreds of Satun fans, who believed the match officials led by referee Pichit Thongchanmoon were biased, invaded the pitch after the final whistle and beat them up.

Video clips showing the melee were widely circulated, sparking heavy criticism about hooliganism which has become a recurring problem for the sport.

While the match officials’ performance may be up for debate, it is still a gross violation of sporting etiquette for fans to have caused them physical harm.

One of the clips shows linesman Karin Soisangwan supposedly confessing by saying a “senior person” had asked match officials to officiate in favour of Khon Kaen United.

Mr Karin later told the media he was forced to say that by angry Satun fans. He said he had to follow their demands after seeing one of the other officials being beaten unconscious. The linesman said his primary concern at that time “was about his own life”.

Satun chairman Samrit Liangprasit said after the crowd trouble that the club would take responsibility and accept any punishment.

Even though it was widely expected that Satun United would face heavy punishment for their supporters’ violent behaviour, the ruling by the regional league organising committee last Wednesday exceeded expectations.

The committee on Wednesday decided that Satun would be suspended from playing in all competitions sanctioned by the Football Association of Thailand for three years.

The regional league side was also ordered to pay a fine of 315,000 baht.

The punishment is certainly severe. To be banned from playing in major tournaments for three years is to be left in limbo where progress will become virtually impossible. No games means no cup. No cup means no hope of attaining glory, attracting no sponsors and an inability to recruit or keep talented players in the team.

The punishment is doubly hurtful as Satun stood a good chance of being promoted to League One. The ban means this chance is lost.

Considering the serious ramifications, it is no surprise that the Satun chairman did a double-take and seemed to have forgotten what he had said before.

Mr Samrit argued that the punishment was too harsh and vowed to appeal against it.

If the regional league organising committee does not reverse its decision in the appeal, the team will take the matter to the Administrative Court, Mr Samrit said.

With the row over the punishment set to go on, one thing that should be drawn from the whole affair is an urgent need to cultivate a good sporting culture in the country.

Thailand stands to gain much from sports development — revenue from tourism, better health for the public, income distribution, the cultivation of discipline and a sense of national unity.

To realise this potential, however, the country needs to cultivate sportsmanship. Without the ability to play by the rules, to accept a game’s result with grace and to resolve problems without resorting to violence, Thailand will never see a winning day.

Sports authorities and football lovers around the country should wake up to the problem and start doing everything in their power to stop these disgraceful acts.