BANGKOK (19 Feb 2013) – Datuk Worawi Makudi, the president of the FA of Thailand (FAT) confirmed that the a probe has been initiated to look into an alleged match-fixing attempt in last season’s FA Cup final between Buriram United and Army United.
The announcement came after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) last week informed the FAT of possible irregularities in the November match, which Buriram won 2-1.
According to Worawi (pix), the AFC said Japanese referee Yoshida Toshimitsu, who officiated the match, informed the Asian governing body that he was offered bribes to favour one of the two teams.
“We will set up a committee to look into the issue,” Worawi said to the Bangkok Post without offering further details. “We will talk to both Buriram and Army before submitting our findings to the AFC and FIFA.”
Asked why the claim was made public months after the match had been played, Worawi said: “You cannot jump to conclusions. We have to consider a claim carefully to see if there are grounds before publicising it.”
