In the King's Cup final on the evening of September 7th, the host team Thailand failed to defend their title on home soil after losing to Iraq 0-1. However, the most notable aspect of the match was not Mohanad Ali's sole goal, but rather the unsportsmanlike conduct he displayed towards Thai midfielder Chanathip.
In the 90+4th minute, Chanathip attempted to dribble past Ali, but the Iraqi player deliberately kicked him in the leg, causing the "Thai Messi" to fall to the ground in pain. The foul resulted in Chanathip being stretchered off the field, while Ali also received a direct red card and was sent off after the tackle.
Chanathip apologizes to Thai fans for not being able to win the King's Cup (Photo: FA Thailand).
The Thai national team failed to achieve their goal of defending the King's Cup title on home soil. Not only did they lose the title, but they also risk dropping in the FIFA rankings. With this disappointing result, coach Masatada Ishii's future is more uncertain than ever, and he faces the risk of being sacked.
When the match ended, Chanathip was able to walk normally and went to the stands to thank the fans. However, the violent nature of the foul still left many Thai football fans extremely worried about Chanathip's condition.
As soon as he received the injury results, the 31-year-old star of the "War Elephants" immediately informed his fans.
“In my career, I’ve never been treated so unfairly. After that incident, I received many messages of support and encouragement from my teammates. Luckily, it was only a muscle injury, but I will have to get it checked more thoroughly. I was very angry at the time, but perhaps he (Mohanad Ali) also regretted his actions.”
He hasn't even apologized yet. This shouldn't happen in a football match, especially when their team is in the lead and we weren't playing roughly. I really don't understand why this happened," Chanathip shared after the match ended.
For his part, the captain of the Thai national team also apologized to the fans for the loss: “I apologize to the fans for our inability to defend the title. I hope everyone will continue to support and encourage us. Encouragement is very important.”
"On behalf of the young players and coaching staff, I apologize. We will strive to improve further, from the coach to the young players. The whole team fought hard, but there were still some minor mistakes that need to be addressed," Chanathip said.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/chanathip-len-tieng-after-being-criticized-by-iraq-player-20250908091157482.htm
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