Thai fans go to Federation headquarters to protest after Japanese coach's dismissal

TPO - Many fans were upset when the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) fired coach Masatada Ishii, who helped the "War Elephants" achieve their best position on the FIFA rankings in the past 17 years.

According to Thairath , a Thai fan went to the FAT headquarters to protest the decision to fire coach Ishii. He carried a sign with the words: "Why fire coach Ishii?" The fan shared with the media: "Everyone was surprised. Why fire coach Ishii right now? The 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers have not ended yet, the Thai team just beat Chinese Taipei. The team's ranking also increased with each match."

Previously, Thai media fiercely debated the FAT's move to fire the coach. Worapat Arunpakdee, host of Thairath , commented: "FAT made a bad decision. Coach Ishii was fired when he was still doing well, leading the team to the Asian Cup. If coach Ishii is fired, it needs to be resolved from the King's Cup."

Thairath said the FAT Technical Department has no say in important decisions such as firing coaches. Instead, the FAT leadership always decides everything themselves.

Thai media is concerned about FAT's risk of having to pay a large amount of compensation for coach Ishii's contract, especially when FAT's financial situation is not optimistic at this stage.

Coach Ishii left FAT in bitterness.

Coach Ishii has led the Thai team to 16 wins out of 30 matches, achieving a rate of 53%. Under the reign of Coach Ishii, the "War Elephants" improved 58.62 points, rising from 113th to 96th in the FIFA rankings.

Previously, Coach Ishii spoke up, expressing his dissatisfaction at being suddenly fired. The Japanese strategist said he was summoned by FAT to the headquarters at 10am to evaluate the results of the two matches against Chinese Taipei. After the meeting, Coach Ishii received notice of dismissal from today. He left the meeting and refused to sign any documents. After that, FAT unilaterally announced the dismissal of Coach Ishii.

The decision to fire coach Ishii stunned the Japanese media. Many Japanese sports newspapers questioned FAT about the reason for firing coach Ishii, when the work of this strategist at the "War Elephants" was still running smoothly.

Over the past two days, FAT has been criticized by the media and Thai fans for remaining silent after the announcement of firing coach Ishii. Madam Pang has spoken out, saying that the decision to fire a coach is normal in football. FAT hoped that the "War Elephants" could qualify for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, but that did not happen. Therefore, FAT decided to fire coach Ishii to find a coach with a greater stature.

Madam Pang affirmed that FAT still treats coach Ishii fairly and compensates 50% of the remaining salary to be received in the contract.

On the afternoon of October 22, FAT appointed Anthony Hudson as the new coach of Thailand. The new coach of Thailand used to be the interim coach of the US team. Hudson used to lead the BG Pathum United Club, achieving a winning rate of over 58%. He has experience with Thai football and has led teams competing for World Cup spots such as New Zealand, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/cdv-thai-lan-den-tru-so-lien-doan-phan-ung-sau-vu-sa-thai-hlv-nhat-ban-post1789700.tpo