Bangkok: Piyapong Pue-on revealed his involvement in the dismissal of Masatada Ishii and announced his resignation from the Football Association of Thailand board of directors if the Thai national team is eliminated from the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
According to Thai News Agency, Piyapong Pue-on, former striker for the Thai national team and current technical director of the Football Association of Thailand, has addressed the Football Association’s decision to dismiss Masatada Ishii, the Japanese national team manager. This decision has sparked controversy among Thai football fans. Piyapong disclosed on the YouTube channel “Tangmo Long Piyapong Ying” that he was part of the decision-making process to remove Ishii, which was based on input from the technical department. He emphasized that the decision to remove Ishii was made by the board of directors following feedback from the technical department. Piyapong also clarified that he provided feedback to Nualphan Lamsam, president of the Football Association of Thailand, but insisted that he never interfered with Ishii’s performance. Furthermore, he declared that if new head coach Anthony Hudson fails to secure qualification for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, he will resign from the Football Association of Thailan
d’s board of directors immediately.
The Thai national team’s upcoming schedule includes a warm-up match against Singapore at Thammasat Stadium, Rangsit, on November 13th. This will be followed by an away match against Sri Lanka in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, Group D, on matchday 5, November 18th.