FORMER FA of Thailand (FAT) president Worawi Makudi yesterday handed in several documents to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) alleging corruption and money politics in FAT.
Worawi, who will be challenging incumbent Somyos Pumpanmuang for the FAT presidency on Feb 12, claimed that broadcasting deals and cheque payments to clubs were done in an inappropriate manner.
‘I have just handed several documents to the AFC for them to conduct an investigation. I believe corruption and money politics are in play at FAT,’ said Worawi.
The 69-year-old, who was the FAT chief from 2007-2015, is no stranger to controversies.
Worawi was banned for five years in 2015 after Fifa had said he committed ‘forgery and falsification.’
Fifa’s appeal committee then reduced the ban to three and a half years in 2018 but Worawi also appealed against that sentence.
The former Fifa executive member had his ban from football overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in February last year. He is currently in a legal tussle with FAT.
‘Yes, I was banned by Fifa, but I took my case to the CAS and won. My name has been cleared, so I believe I am eligible to stand for elections.
‘However, I believe my nomination could be rejected because of two new clauses in the FAT constitution.
‘The first clause states that a member who is being sued cannot stand for elections, while the other states if Fifa ban an official, he also cannot contest for FAT positions.’
The documents were handed to AFC legal deputy director Andrew Mercer.