FFC bans 4 football officials for life

FFC General Secretary Keo Sarath answers questions from reporters during the media briefing yesterday. KT/Yeun Punleau

The Football Federation of Cambodia (FFC) has suspended and slapped a lifetime ban on four football officials for embezzlement and other corrupt activities.

A statement from the FFC mentioned the names of Tuy Vicheka, Chhaing Pisedth, Koul Sophearom and May Tola as the officials banned from professional sports for life.

The statement did not mention the current positions of the officials within the Federation, but it is known that Tola used to be a spokesman and acting general secretary of the FFC until being replaced by Keo Sarath in September 2018.

Koul, for his part, previously served as an administrator at the FFC. He was involved in an incident four years ago which led to his being banned from football-related activities for 12 months, in addition to being ordered to pay a $5,000 fine by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

The statement said the four committed serious offenses in violation of FFC rules and regulations. The punishment was meted out by the Executive Committee of the Federation.

In addition to the ban, Tola’s case has been referred to the court for further action.

In a media briefing yesterday, the FFC general secretary disclosed the circumstances behind the drastic action taken by them.

According to Keo, the four were appointed to lead and manage Tiger Street Football.

Tiger Street Football is among the biggest football event in Cambodia. It has been held every year since 2013. Teams first compete in the provincial qualifiers before dueling it out in the grand finals in front of a huge crowd that includes a global football legend specially flown in to Cambodia for the occasion.

Tiger Street Football has been instrumental in developing football in Cambodia.

“Sensing some irregularities, the Federation formed an Investigative Committee to probe the matter. The investigation found the officials had pocketed thirty percent of the sponsorship money for Tiger Street Football that was supposed to go to the FFC,” he noted.

The money involved is reportedly in excess of $50,000.

Keo described the action of the four officials as ‘detrimental’ to the development of football in Cambodia.

The case is unprecedented in Cambodia, where football has a very large following. While the FFC itself and some players and team officials were sanctioned by the AFC, it was rare for the FFC to mete punishments of such magnitude in the past.

In 2016, the AFC meted a $10,000 fine on the FFC for not following the rules regarding player registration in the AFC Cup that year. This was the same case that involved Koul.

A year later, the AFC once against sanctioned the FFC and ordered it to pay a $5,000 fine for its inability to ‘maintain law and order’ during the AFC Cup qualifier between Cambodia and Vietnam held at Phnom Penh’s Olympic Stadium. That same year, two Cambodians, including the coach of the National Police football team at that time, were banned for life for their alleged involvement in game-fixing in Laos.

But lately, the FFC, under General Sao Sokha, has taken a stronger stance against irregularities in the sport. Last month, it issued a strongly-worded warning against game-fixing and other irregularities in football.

“Football Federation of Cambodia would like to express its strong will against corruption in the football sector of Cambodia, especially match-fixing,” a post on the Federation’s Facebook page stated. “So, we would like to remind our staff and players to stay away from such acts which would ruin our country’s image and reputation, as well as the individual itself.”

The four officials have yet to issue any public statement rebutting the accusations against them.

Credited: Khmer Times