Hua Hin City FC

[buksida]

He is the club chairman so next year the team could be financially stuffed unfortunately.

We could do with the likes of the long list of sponsors Hua Hin enjoys!

[Big Boy]

Ouch, that hurts.

We all agree action was required, and I have no problem with Hua Hin's punishment - as the home team we were always going to get hit hard. However, to hit a small club (and we're both small clubs) like Prachuab that hard is too severe.

[Sabai Sabai]

Given he's been banned from having anything to do with football for the rest of his life, it might be more than next season they're affected. I believe they are planning an appeal, however. I'm sure I read their manager saying so.

Incidentally, Prachuap were also fined for objects thrown on the playing field.

[Big Boy]

Given he's been banned from having anything to do with football for the rest of his life

Did they say why? Is it simply the figurehead having to fall on his sword, or did he do something more sinister? The punishment doesn't seem to fit the crime from where I'm sitting.

[Sabai Sabai]

It suggests he actually attacked a player, and that was what caused things to "escalate"
It also says he damaged the name of the association and therefore, they felt the need to hand out the heaviest punishment possible.

[Big Boy]

I can only assume he was the guy with the medical bag, who I referred to earlier as the sponge man. He basically dealt the first blow that made things kick off. If it was him, then yes, I agree he needs firm punishment, but its unfair that his stupidity can jeopardise the future of a football club, and all of those real supporters, many of whom were shell shocked outside of the ground afterwards.

5 days on, and I'm feeling sad for Prachuab and their real supporters.

[Sabai Sabai]

Whilst I agree the punishment seems very harsh, someone in his position should know better. He should be setting an example, now he is being made an example of!

[Big Boy]

I know what you're saying is right, and don't disagree. However, there must be at least a thousand innocent supporters who have had their celebrations cut short, and a whole football team + backroom staff who will be wondering if they've got a job next season.

[Sabai Sabai]

Yes, that would be a real shame. I've no real idea of the setup down there, are they dependent on him financially or is the club self sufficient and he just runs it?? In which case, hopefully it would be straightforward enough to replace him without affecting the club massively. If, on the other hand, he's pumping a fortune of his own money into the club..... Perhaps a new sugar daddy might be more difficult to find.

1 thing that always amazes me with regards finance(Hua Hin + Prachuap) they always publish after each game 2 figures: gate money + merchandise/souvenirs....
Prachuap always have about 10x Hua Hin on both counts!

[Big Boy]

I've often wondered about the Hua Hin published figures, and if you divide the number by 50 Baht (admission fee), you start to wonder how many were in the crowd without paying The numbers Hua Hin publish just can't be correct - Hua Hin crowds are usually in the region of 200 according to the numbers..

[Davy B]

I think the only supporters that pay are the ones that go into the seated stand. I know people who have sat opposite and at the fence at the back of the goal and they haven`t had to pay. The only downside to that is that they will not be in the raffle to get a pack of orange juice or a team shirt!! Someone commented earlier that there were 5500 at the game - probably from a Bing translation - when it was more likely to have been about 1500. Getting back to the punishments that have been handed out, it seems to me that all though most of them are totally justified I couldn`t help but compare them to the famous "Cantona Kick" and the resulting 9 month ban he received for kicking the crap out of a Crystal Palace heckler. He was of course a multi-millionaire footballer, so the one year ban and 62500 baht fine handed to Owusu, who is probably on a salary of 20,000 baht a month, is totally over the top. It is after all his only income to support him and his family. It could also see the end of his playing career. I am also puzzled as to the 2 behind closed door games. I am aware this sort of punishment has been handed out to some UK teams who cannot control their supporters but Hua Hin only rent the ground and it is on an army base. Surely it would be up to the Army to make sure their base was not trashed and so provide additional security.

[buksida]

IMO the punishments are fitting. K.Songkiat is a high ranking politician, not a 'spongeman' - he should really have known better, and Hua Hin's no 30 is an animal who has attacked other players all season - he has no place on a field of sport and should also have been permanently banned from playing in Thailand.

The attendance was in the region of 1,500, with over a thousand supporting Prachuap and 50,000 baht taken at the gate. Not sure how its done in Hua Hin but in Prachuap they open the gates for free after around 30 minutes which is when the other side of the stadium fills up - everyone there at the kickoff has paid to get in.

Lets see what 2015 brings.

[Big Boy]

IMO the punishments are fitting. K.Songkiat is a high ranking politician, not a 'spongeman'

Yes, I identified him as such because the man leading the attack on every video that I've seen (and there are a few), had what looks like a medical bag on his shoulder.

Hua Hin's no 30 is an animal who has attacked other players all season

Maybe a little strong, but true - it happened, and I won't try to defend his actions. Hopefully, I have reported such incidents in my match reports. However, no worse than the likes of Norman Hunter or Vinnie Jones, and definitely not in the same elk as Eric Cantona. All of these players had their antics well recorded on film, yet Owusu, basically a poor, lower division player in a 3rd world country has been handed down a sentence that exceeds all of these. Louis Suarez bit chunks out of people at the highest level and received a lesser punishment. The punishment should fit the crime. Punishments are normally based on precedents - there are many precedents, but no punishment to match this.

Likewise, maybe a precedent for Mr Songkiat is Alan Pardew who head-butted the Hull City midfielder David Meyler. OK, the Newcastle supporters didn't follow his lead by attacking the rest of the team, but neither did Mr Songkiat ask the Prachuab supporters to follow him.

I am not trying to defend either offender above, I just think the Thai FA have gone into 'stupid' mode when determining punishments. Hopefully both sentences will be reduced to something sensible. I believe the crowd disturbance charge/punishment for Hua Hin had been coming for months, and we got away lightly.

I was surprised that there was no punishment for the Prachuab animals who attacked the Hua Hin team, but maybe they got away with it as a first offence. If that is correct, what happens if for example they beat Thai Honda to become Regional League Champions - they weren't punished for doing it against Hua Hin, so it must be OK to kick and hospitalise the Thai Honda team. Strange decision that, and I hope it doesn't backfire.

The attendance was in the region of 1,500, with over a thousand supporting Prachuap and 50,000 baht taken at the gate.

My point exactly. 50,000 Baht divided by 50 Baht admission fee puts the paying attendance at 1,000 Do the people officially travelling with Prachuab pay? The only time I've paid away from Fort Thanarat has been as an Independent traveller e.g. I did not pay at Prachuab. Clutching at straws, but it might explain it.

[Sabai Sabai]

[quote]I was surprised that there was no punishment for the Prachuab animals who attacked the Hua Hin team, but maybe they got away with it as a first offence. If that is correct, what happens if for example they beat Thai Honda to become Regional League Champions - they weren't punished for doing it against Hua Hin, so it must be OK to kick and hospitalise the Thai Honda team. Strange decision that, and I hope it doesn't backfire.[quote]


Just to clarify, Hua Hin + Prachuap both received 2 identical punishments: A fine of 25,000bt each for objects(bottle) thrown onto the pitch. Also a fine of 37,500bt each for fans attacking players and other (opposing)fans.

Obviously, over and above that, as the home team, Hua Hin have also been banned from hosting 2 home matches next season.

So, Prachuap have been reprimanded with regards the crowd trouble as well. Which, you would think, would be taken into consideration in the event of any repeat.

[Big Boy]

Thanks for the clarification. That does seem fairer.

I can understand Hua Hin receiving the harsher punishment.

- Firstly because there had been several previous incidents.

- Secondly, having only 8 police officers to control a local derby is not adequate if things kick off - as was proved.