Commentary compares soccer match to diplomatic spat

The Straits Times, February 3, 2007


IN A commentary headlined 'Football saga imitates real life', The Nation newspaper yesterday compared the controversial soccer match to the diplomatic spat between Thailand and Singapore which includes talk of eavesdropping and the use of foreign nominees.

Here are the excerpts:

'Even Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont was curious to know whether Temasek United Football Club had used underhand tactics to win the first leg of the Asean Football Championship...

'Were we cheated?' the PM asked reporters yesterday.

'The joke going around the Thai team is that their game plan might have been 'discovered' by their opponents prior to the match.

'After all, how come the Singaporeans knew that Thai star Kiatisak Senamuang would be absent from the game? And how did the Singaporean players know just to mark Thai midfielder Dassakorn Thonglao, who became the most frequently fouled player by his opponents? Mmm...

'Was the (Malaysian) referee, like Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the former Malaysian leader, just trying to drive a wedge further between Thailand and Singapore, knowing the penalty would drive us nuts?

'Although the title of the tournament described it as a competition for the Asean region, the appearance of some Singaporean players conjured up an image of nominees - as they seem to come from all over the world.

'Take the Caucasian-looking guy with the pierced-nose - the tall Mustafic Fahrudin, who scored their winning goal. Fahrudin, formerly Serbian, rewarded his adopted country handsomely with victory from the penalty spot.

'Temasek Holdings has been accused by some of using Thai nominees to acquire control of Shin Corp on behalf of foreigners. And when it comes to football, the Singaporean team has shown the world it can use foreign 'nominees' to improve its playing strength.

'There is nothing wrong with this. But the next challenge for Temasek is how to truly nationalise Shin Corp without being caught using local nominees.'