Thai football is in turmoil, key FAT member ready to resign: Why?

The decision to fire coach Ishii came from the FAT Technical Committee, not from Madam Pang.

The incident of FAT suddenly firing coach Ishii and appointing Technical Director, Anthony Hudson as head coach of the Thai national team, has caused outrage among the majority of football fans in this country.

The incident has not yet subsided, FAT is facing another more serious incident, which is the incorrect display of the Vietnamese national flag at the recent draw ceremony for the U.19 and U.16 Southeast Asian futsal tournament 2025. In which, Madam Pang (billionaire Nualphan Lamsam), President of FAT, had to take responsibility and speak up to explain.

Bóng đá Thái Lan nổi sóng, thành viên chủ chốt FAT sẵn sàng từ chức: Tại sao?- Ảnh 1. — Madam Pang (billionaire Nualphan Lamsam), President of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), was dissatisfied with some decisions of Coach Ishii at the AFF Cup 2024.

Regarding the incident with Coach Ishii, Madam Pang affirmed that firing this coach is a normal thing in football, when the results do not match the expectations of FAT. However, Thai fans are still dissatisfied.

Faced with this situation, Mr. Piyapong Pue-on, a key member of FAT and also a member of the FAT Technical Executive Committee, has just spoken up to take all related responsibilities.

"The decision to fire coach Ishii was based on the agreement of all members of the technical committee. After that, we informed Madam Pang. The FAT President only received comments from all parties and made the final decision," Mr. Piyapong Pue-on emphasized in an interview on YouTube channel "Tangmo Long Piyapong Ying" on October 28.

Mr. Piyapong Pue-on also explained: "In fact, this incident (firing coach Ishii) was intended a few months ago (after the Thai team lost shockingly to Turkmenistan 1-3 on June 10 in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers). Besides, the fact that coach Ishii could not help the team win the King's Cup (September) led to the final decision, although we had 2 wins against Taiwan (2-0 and 6-1) in October. But this did not create any change. We want a bigger change, so that the Thai team can rise up, not be sluggish like now."

Bóng đá Thái Lan nổi sóng, thành viên chủ chốt FAT sẵn sàng từ chức: Tại sao?- Ảnh 2. — The Thai national team faces many challenges in winning tickets to the 2027 Asian Cup after suddenly firing coach Ishii.

According to Mr. Piyapong Pue-on, after the decision to fire coach Ishii and appoint coach Anthony Hudson, although still facing criticism from the public. But he firmly stated: "If this decision is wrong, and leads to the Thai team not qualifying for the 2027 Asian Cup finals, I will be the first to take responsibility and am ready to resign immediately."

In the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, the Thai team regained their chance to officially qualify for the finals, when they rose to 9 points with the top team Turkmenistan. They have 2 matches left, including against Sri Lanka in November and directly against Turkmenistan at the end of March 2026 to decide the only ticket in the group.

Whether the Thai team will participate in the 2027 Asian Cup or not, the opportunity is now in their hands. At the same time, Madam Pang has also convinced a very excellent player of Thai origin to agree to return to wear the national team shirt, Jude Soonsup-Bell, who can debut in November.

According to Mr. Piyapong Pue-on, President of FAT, Madam Pang is currently focusing on managing the general situation of the federation and finances, such as solving the 350 million baht debt problem and finding sponsors for the Thai League tournaments. All technical issues, including firing or appointing coaches, she clearly and directly assigns responsibility to the executive board and technical department.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bong-da-thai-lan-noi-song-thanh-vien-chu-chot-fat-san-sang-tu-chuc-tai-sao-185251029112000284.htm