President of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), Pol Gen Somyot Poompanmuang, has decided to step down, as demanded by the chairman of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand (NOCT), Gen Prawit Wongsuwan, to show responsibility for the poor performance of the Thai national soccer team under his leadership.
Pol Gen Somyot said today (Saturday) that he had been informed by the FAT secretary-general, Patit Suphaphongs, about the NOCT’s meeting yesterday, during which General Prawit asked Somyot to show responsibility for the U22 Thai national football team’s poor performance at the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia and a brawl between two teams and staff.
The Thai team was defeated 2-5 by the Indonesian team after extra time and the match degenerated into a brawl between the two sides.
Gen Prawit reportedly said that the incident was very embarrassing and had damaged the reputation of Thailand.
Somyot said today that he will comply with Gen Prawit’s wish and will inform the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and FIFA of his resignation from FAT.
