By Andrew Warshaw
June 27 – FIFA executive committee member Worawi Makudi is refusing to step down as boss of Thai football following the election row that shows no sign of abating.
Earlier this week Thailand avoided being thrown out of world football by FIFA after a fourth-tier club agreed to withdrew a lawsuit that threatened to stop the Thai FA (FAT) from holding elections. Pattaya had won a court injunction blocking reforms that would have changed the Thai federation’s statutes which, in turn, would have reduced the number of voting clubs in FAT elections from 184 to 72.
As a result, Makudi, whose two-year term officially ended on June 16, was forced to postpone the presidential election but technically remains in charge. No vote has since taken place and no fresh date for elections agreed, with Makudi keeping a firm grip on power.
“Article 17 of the FAT statutes states clearly that the incumbent administrative board is able to stay in the post until the appointment of the new management,” Makudi said.
“FIFA again stated clearly in a letter sent to us that we must approve the new FAT rules before we can hold the poll. We can do nothing to change FIFA’s decision. We can’t find another way to get round that.”
Critics said slashing the number of voting members was a deliberate ploy by Makudi to retain the presidency. Under Thai sports law a vote must be held within 30 days of the expiry of the incumbent’s term and rival presidential candidate Virat Chanpanich said he would push the authorities to enforce that.
Makudi, who lost out last month in the vote for the Presidency of the Asian Football Confederation, is no stranger to controversy. Two years ago he strongly denied claims that he misused thousands of dollars’ worth of FIFA development grants to build facilities on land that he personally owned in and around Bangkok.
He was investigated and cleared of any wrongdoing – he claimed the allegations were designed to defame his reputation – but since then the way he runs Thai football has been questioned by a parliamentary committee in his own country.
Makudi insists he has done nothing wrong. As far as the current case is concerned he was merely following orders from the world governing body.
“FIFA know everything because they researched the number of teams playing in the country’s domestic competitions,” he said. “They subsequently proposed a new structure for Thai football. I myself want teams from each province to have voting rights. But FIFA saw that those teams were still not run professionally.”
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