FOOTBALL

Thai workers in S'pore told 'cool it' after footy fervour

Thai workers in Singapore have been told not to walk off the job after Singapore won 2-1 against the Thai national team in the first leg of the Asean Championship football final played in the island state on Wednesday night. A report said a number of Thai workers were protesting over the match result and the decision of the Malaysian referee, who awarded a controversial penalty to a Singaporean player.

Labour permanent secretary Juthathawat Intharasuksri said he had instructed the labour attache in Singapore to warn Thai workers not to stage a strike. There was no violence during the Wednesday night protest, he said.

Thai workers must obey Singapore laws, he said and warned that a work stoppage could worsen the already fragile relations between the two countries.

Labour Minister Apai Chanthanajulaka said he hoped there would not be a repeat of the 2005 riot by Thai workers in Taiwan.

Wednesday's first-leg match in Singapore was played in a tense atmosphere in front of 55,000 home supporters.

The score was 1-1 with eight minutes to play when Malaysian referee C. Ravichandran ruled that Thai centreback Niweat Siriwong had pulled down Singapore striker Noh Alam Shah in the box, and awarded a penalty.

The Thai players protested by walking off the pitch and refusing to carry on.

After a 15-minute delay, the furious players returned to the pitch and Singapore's Mustafic Fahrudin scored from the spot to make it 2-1.

Thawatchai Sajjakul, manager of the Thai national team, said it was dangerous for his team to play in Singapore where gambling is involved in football matches.

''A lot of money had been bet on this match,'' he said.

Thailand coach Chanvit Phalajivin said he could not accept the result. However, he said the walk-off was meant only to cool the players' emotions and to prevent the situation from spinning out of control.

The Thai coach said the team will give it their best and play with sportsmanship in the return match to be held at the Supachalasai stadium in Bangkok on Sunday night.

Mr Chanvit urged the Thai fans not to start a vendetta against Singapore. Extra security will be in place for the game.

Bangkok Post
Friday February 02, 2007