Mom Chao (MC) Chulcherm Yugala, a staunch royalist, has issued an apology to a female Thai national team volleyball player, Ajcharaporn Kongyot, for his error in criticising her for using a three-finger gesture, which can be a sign of protest in Thailand, at a recent game in Brazil.

In his Facebook post, featuring the image of Ajcharaporn raising a three-finger salute, the staunch royalist questioned the player’s conduct by asking “For whom? For the Nation or to please somebody? It is an individual’s right to love or like anybody, but they should keep his or her sentiments to themselves, not show off while performing a duty for the nation.”

The three-finger salute was popularised during the last decade, after its use in “The Hunger Games”. The gesture has been adopted by pro-democracy protesters in Thailand, Myanmar and other countries.

It is reported that Chulcherm’s criticism of Ajcharaporn, which was shared by several media, has puzzled her volleyball teammates, who insist that the three-finger sign is commonly used by all volleyball teams to indicate that there will be three hitters positioned on the front line in the game.

On Friday, the Volleyball Association of Thailand issued a statement, saying that the image in question, showing Ajcharaporn raising three-fingers, took place during a game on June 18^th, at the Volleyball Nations League event in Brazil.

The association said Ajcharaporn was merely trying to communicate with her teammates about game tactics.

The association maintains that it never has and never will allow domestic politics to interfere with the team, saying that all the team’s players are loyal to the three pillars of the country, which are the Nation, the Religion and the Monarchy.

“Please do not involve us in politics, but follow and offer moral support to our team, so we will do our best for Thailand,” said the association in its statement.