Foreign ref will improve King's Cup

The talking point was not the penalty-shootout loss of the Thai team in the final against Denmark but the stormy match between the hosts and Lebanon which was marred by a on-field brawl between the teams.

The signs were ominous when the Middle East team scored early in the second half, turning the game on its head.

It came as a surprise when the continued spat between the Sukha brothers and a Lebanese striker eventually turned into chaos late in the match.

The Lebanese walked off the pitch in protest after two rounds of melee sparked by the bust-up involving the same three offenders. Officials had to intervene to convince them to resume playing.

People fed up with the Thai players' tendency to fight wasted little time in turning on the hosts, and the sight of Suree Sukha in the forefront of the clash was the most sickening to many. It showed that the right back had not learned his lesson as a professional despite a short spell with English club Manchester City.

However, my sympathies are with the players on this occasion.

The incidents on that night exposed the poor organisation of the country's premier competition. It is unthinkable that in this present era officials of the hosts' country can be employed in an international tournament and also expect that the event will be incident-free.

One need not be a soothsayer to foresee trouble when employing local officials. Even though the organisers might claim that they have used the best referee in the country, the visitors could be forgiven for going into the match with suspicion in their hearts.

On Wednesday it was obvious, even to a neutral observer, that several decisions went in favour of the hosts. The Lebanese's irritation culminating in a free-for-all is understandable.

It was not the first time that the tournament had been marred by biased refereeing. In the previous edition, Thailand took on Iraq in the final, and the latter's legally scored goal was ruled off side, which sparked vehement protests. Later the Thais cashed in on their opponents' misfortune by scoring the winner.

Football Association of Thailand president Worawi Makudi's words to the effect that the organisation had decided to use local referees to help them gain experience at the international level sound hollow.

If the association really wanted to help the local officials, why should it allow them officiate in a game involving the Thai team?

Although there is no guarantee that foreign referees would prevent the occurrence of such ugly scenes, they would at least improve the image of the beleaguered tournament.