On Wednesday, it was the first leg of the ASEAN football Championship between Singapore and Thailand. With all the recent political happenings b/w both countries, it provided an interesting backdrop to this game.
From the start of the game, Singapore was using a very robust approach style of play to impose themselves in the match ( remind me of how some teams like to use this approach against Arsenal in the EPL) There were a lot of niggling fouls all over the pitch and no one had any time on the ball. The match was played generally in good spirit although I felt that the Thais at time are being victimised by the referee.
In spite of that, the match was proceeding as expected, a tight game with few goal scoring opportunities and a lot of robust play. That was until the 82 min. A free kick was given to Singapore. The free kick was floated into the penalty box and the goalkeeper catch the ball. The goalkeeper was about to continue when the whistle sounded for a Singapore penalty due to a foul on the striker which was spotted by the referee. This decision shocked the Thai players. On the other hand, it was greeted with great delight by the Singapore fans.( Kallang Roar) The Thai players were very adamant that it was not a penalty and contested furiously. What happened next shock everyone, the Thai coach seem to have signaled his players to walk off the pitch and all the Thai players walk off. The referee watched with not much concern. It took the tournament organiser as well as the FAS and the Thai football team manager to persuade them to go back to the pitch to continue. It was a remarkable episode in many ways. They were off the pitch for 14 mins and they had to eventually get the Thai coach to persuade them back t the pitch. The whole situation was a bit surreal. It was really what ASEAN football did not want to show to fans who watched the match from all parts of Asia.
In my opinion, there a few issues to look into. Firstly, was it a penalty? Even at first view, it looked a very soft penalty to be given. After watching a few more times on slow motion, it further convince me that it should never have been a penalty. I would only say that the referee gave it based on his point of view which may have been obstructed. In any case, if a referee is not sure if it is a penalty, the penalty should never have been given. In addition, the line man should have a clearer view and would have been better placed to make the call. On this aspect, a poor call has been made. ( Although I have seen a worse case in the EPL, where the striker was not touched but he fell but the referee gave the penalty)
The next issue is about the Thai players walking off the pitch as a form of silent protest. After discussing this issue with a few friends as well as reading the comments in the press, there seem to be two main viewpoints.
The first viewpoint which is the one I also share is that I felt that the Thai should have left any protest that they had to after the match was over. This would be the professional thing to do. This is because it is clearly stated in the rules that once a decision is made by the referee, it is not reversible. In my opinion, there is no way that the referee will change his mind even if the whole Thai team had walk off and decided not to come back unless the decision is reversed. I felt they were doing it as more of a symbolic gesture but in a way it backfired as it reflected very badly on the professionalism of the players as well as the coaches involved. In a way, it seems a bit childish as it is like a spoiled child when he cannot get what he wants, he will stamp his feet in protest. This incident plus some of the poor decision making that plague this tournament in general gives a very poor impression on the professionalism as well as the standard of football in this region. This I feel will be the most disappointing aspect in this tournament as it feels like ASEAN football has taken a step backwards.
The other viewpoint is that people feel that the Thai action is correct. This is because they feel that the referee was biased against the Thai and the football game was already tilted towards Singapore favour. Their opinion which I think is also how the Thai feel is that since the game is already biased then that is no need to play anymore as all the 50-50 decision will go in favour of Singapore. This is what people in our region called Kelong. (For those not in this region, the term kelong means that the match for some reason or another is now favouring one team. Sad to say there have been a few cases of match fixing that had occurred in this region. Hence in our region, whenever there is a controversial decision in a game, there is a tendency to think that the referee or players involved have been bribed.) They felt that this game is already fixed. My personal opinion is that I watched the game what i could comment is that sometimes referee do make mistake and in this case it could have been an honest mistake. However the referee was too hasty giving a penalty as a penalty should only be given when the referee is very sure else no penalty should be given.
In any case, this whole farce have spoiled the impression that ASEAN football has been trying to raise the standard and professionalism of the sport in the region. This I feel will be the biggest regret that will come out of his tournament irregardless on who win the second leg to be played today.
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