Madam Pang and the Thai Football Federation lost the lawsuit and had to pay nearly 300 billion VND.

On March 6, the Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court read out the Supreme Court's ruling in the copyright and licensing contract lawsuit between Siamsport Syndicate and the Football Association of Thailand (FAT).

The case began when Cineplex Co., Ltd. filed a lawsuit against Siamsport Syndicate Joint Stock Company, the entity holding the copyright to broadcast matches organized by FAT. Siamsport then countersued FAT and 20 related individuals, alleging copyright and contract violations.

The Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court (the first instance court) ruled that Siamsport must pay Cineplex 240 million baht in compensation, with interest. In addition, FAT must pay Siamsport 50 million baht in compensation, with interest. Subsequently, all three parties, Siamsport, FAT, and Cineplex, appealed. The Specialized Court of Appeal increased the compensation that FAT must pay Siamsport to 450 million baht.

Madam Pang and the Thai Football Federation must pay large sums of money after losing the lawsuit.

When the case was brought to the Supreme Court, the court amended the appeals court's ruling, ordering FAT to compensate Siamsport 360 million baht (about 272 billion VND), with interest from the date of the lawsuit until the payment is completed.

The lawsuit, which lasted from the time of Somyot Poompanmoung as FAT president, has now been closed under the current president, Madam Pang. The cause of the lawsuit lies in the conflict over the contract for the exploitation of television copyright of the Thai League (Thai National Championship). In 2001, Siam Sport had an agreement with FAT that they would receive 95% of the profits and bear all the financial risks. The contract was then extended to 2025 under FAT president, Worawi Makudi.

By 2014, Thai football was thriving thanks to the success of the national team, helping the Thai League generate huge profits. In 2016, Mr. Somyot Poompanmoung became president of FAT and argued that the contract with Siam Sport was unfair because FAT only received 5% of the profits. Mr. Somyot then decided to cancel this 7-year contract. Therefore, Siam Sport sued FAT.

The case also involved Cineplex, a subsidiary of TrueVisions. They signed a contract to broadcast the Thai League but could not do so because Siam Sport lost the rights to broadcast after the FAT terminated the contract. Notably, this unit paid Siam Sport 240 million baht in advance to broadcast the 2016 season. However, because the contract was terminated by the FAT, Siam Sport could not provide the copyright as promised. Therefore, the court finally ruled that Siam Sport must pay 240 million baht to Cineplex.

After receiving the latest verdict, Madam Pang shared on her personal Facebook: "Every problem can be solved. This is not the end of the world . I would like to quote the teachings of my father, Mr. Phothipong, to remind myself."

Madam Pang has only been in office as FAT president for a year but is now facing a debt of up to 360 million baht. Now Madam Pang will have to find a way to pay 360 million baht to Siam Sport.

Mr. Ngoc

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/madam-pang-va-lien-doan-bong-da-thai-lan-thua-kien-phai-tra-gan-300-ty-dong-ar930472.html