The Football Association (FA) of Thailand has banned two players from national matches for six months and suspended three staff for a year after brawls during the SEA Games men’s football final in Cambodia on May 16.
The televised incident has tarnished the image of Thai football, FA Thailand said in a statement.
An FA Thailand-appointed committee investigating the incident has also unanimously decided to issue a suspension of one year for three staff of the Thai national football team.
They are Prasobchok Chokmor, Pattravudh Wongsripeuk and Mayeed Mudadum.
The committee viewed that they are senior staff with long experience and a duty to train the players, so they should have set an example.
In this case, however, they got involved in the brawls themselves, so the committee issued the maximum penalties.
Soponwit Rakyart (Goalkeeper) and Teerapak Pruengna (substitute) jumped into the brawl after they were provoked and were under the pressure in the game.
After the incident, both young players felt remorse and publicly apologised for their behaviour, the committee said, so they were given a lighter punishment.
They were suspended from playing in any national match for six months.
Indonesia was leading Thailand 2-1 in the second half of the match when the referee blew the whistle to allow a penalty for Thailand.
Coaches for the opposite side, however, thought it was the end of the match, so they rushed onto the field to celebrate.
The penalty allowed Thailand to equalize 2-2. Then both coaches and players from the Thai side began taunting their Indonesian opponents following the goal. The first brawl, which was televised, ensued.
Indonesian forward Titan Agung was seen to swing at the Thai coaches and threw a kick. People from both teams then joined the fray, resulting in a bench-clearing brawl.
The referees were unable to stop the fight as it had spread across a quarter of the stadium.
When Indonesia later scored a goal to tilt the scoreboard 3-2, their players taunted Thailand to get even. Another brawl then started.
When the final whistle was blown, Indonesia won the gold medal after beating Thailand 5-2.
