Singhtarua's TPL fate in balance over multimillion-baht wages claim
Thai Premier League club Singhtarua are refusing to pay millions of baht in wages claimed by a former player, in a move that could threaten their status in the top flight.
Singhtarua narrowly escaped relegation last month, finishing in 13th spot in the top-flight division with 45 points from 38 games, only two above the drop zone.
The TPL club’s future, though, was put in doubt after Liechtenstein international Mathias Christen wrote a letter to Fifa claiming that the club owed him Bt4.2 million in unpaid wages.
Fifa subsequently asked the Football Association of Thailand to look into the case, with Singtarua likely to be handed a six-point deduction if found guilty, which would see them relegated to the second-tier League One.
However, a Singhtarua delegation led by the club’s former manager Trilup Thoopkrajang yesterday visited the Thai FA headquarters in a bid to explain the situation.
“Singhtarua don’t owe the player any money. In fact, it was the player himself who refused to return to Thailand after leaving on international duty. He didn’t come back to pick up the last two months’ wages,” said Trisith Thongdang, the player’s agent.
“We never talked about cancelling his contract but it was the player himself who chose not to come back here. That might be because he didn’t get many chances to play at the club, which affected his place in the national team.
“We had to come out to defend the club because the allegations are not true. He should have acted more professionally. We are still in touch with him [Christen] but have not received an answer as to why he didn’t fulfil his contract.”
Narinphong Jinaphak, head of the FA legal team, said the association’s ruling on the case would not come any time soon.
“We haven’t decided whether Singhtarua will be docked points. We have to wait until the club discusses the matter with Fifa.
We want to make it as fair to everyone as possible.”
