At a press conference on the afternoon of March 11, the President of the Football Association of Thailand, Nualphan Lamsam (also known as Madam Pang), burst into tears when talking about the agency's compensation of 272 billion VND. The FAT lost the lawsuit that had been going on since Madam Pang's predecessor, former president Somyot Poompanmoung. The Supreme Court of Thailand ordered the FAT to compensate the Siam Sport newspaper 360 million baht (about 272 billion VND), with interest from the date of the lawsuit until the payment was completed.
Madam Pang said the FAT will hold an emergency meeting to file a lawsuit to reclaim the 360 million baht plus interest from the lost lawsuit against Siam Sport, under Article 76, against the second defendant, former president Somyot Poompanmoung and the previous FAT board of directors.
“I did not talk to Mr. Somyot before this press conference, because that would have made it impossible for me to maintain my steadfastness and strength in today's press conference,” Madam Pang said.
FAT under Madam Pang’s leadership also discovered irregularities in the payment of 30 million baht to a lawyer in the dispute with Siam Sport. According to the evidence collected, the lawyer only requested 700,000 baht in the first instance court and 300,000 baht in the following stages, leading to suspicions of possible fraud or money laundering.
“Regarding the money laundering suspicion, this is a complicated matter, and I have assigned the legal team to handle it, to consider whether additional complaints are needed, ” Madam Pang said.
Madam Pang burst into tears at the press conference
“ Previously, the board of directors voted to review the debts and financial commitments set by the board. When I first took office, FAT had only 27 million baht in cash and cash equivalents, while its liabilities amounted to 132 million baht. This was the result of Somyot’s time, when FAT took a long-term loan from FIFA of 5 million USD, equivalent to 155 million baht, to be paid in 10 installments over 10 years, causing the federation to be cut off from money until 2030,” Madam Pang revealed.
“ These issues were something that I and the FAT board had to address, but they did not happen under my watch. I am a woman, have a sensitive heart, and feel uncomfortable whenever I am spoken ill of. I would like to confirm that I still respect and love Mr. Somyot as before,” Madam Pang concluded with a choked voice and tears.
Madam Pang cried on livestream.
The cause of the lawsuit between FAT and Siam Sport lies in the conflict over the contract to exploit the television copyright of the Thai League (Thai National Championship). In 2001, Siam Sport had an agreement with FAT that they would receive 95% of the profits and bear all the financial risks. The contract was later extended until 2025 under FAT president Worawi Makudi.
By 2014, Thai football was booming thanks to the success of the national team, making the Thai League profitable. In 2016, Mr. Somyot Poompanmoung became the president of FAT and argued that the contract with Siam Sport was unfair because FAT only received 5% of the profits. Mr. Somyot then decided to cancel the 7-year contract. As a result, Siam Sport sued FAT.
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/toa-an-bat-boi-thuong-272-ty-dong-madam-pang-bat-khoc-doi-kien-nguoi-tien-nhiem-ar931035.html
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