Thai soccer boss out over beer

Thai soccer boss out over beer

CHIANG MAI, Thailand (AFP): The "beer war" at the 18th Southeast Asian Games cost the Thai soccer boss his job -- for one day.

Team manager Thawatchai Sajjakul and some of his reserve players were seen wearing warm-up suits at their match Sunday that were made by the Umbro company and which bore the name "Singha," a popular Thai beer.

That angered two of the games' biggest sponsors, Carlsberg, the European beer giant, and Football Thai (FBT), makers of the official sportswear for the nine-day contest, the official games newspaper Sawasdee reported.

Both sponsors accused Thawatchai of breach of contract and threatened to pull out of the games, which would have cost the organizers a couple million dollars in fees.

Thai chief of mission Charouck Arirachakaran fired Thawatchai on Monday.

On Tuesday, Thawatchai submitted a written apology to the representatives of Carlsberg and FBT at a meeting with officials of the Thai Olympic Committee and the Football Association of Thailand. The two sponsors then withdrew their complaint and Thawatchai was reinstated.