Playing foul: Thai MPs score controversy with illegal match stream in Parliament

Pheu Thai Party MPs sparked controversy on Thai social media for watching yesterday’s Thailand versus South Korea football match on an illegal website, complete with gambling advertisements, during a parliament meeting.

Football fans in Thailand rejoiced as the national team, commonly known as Chang Suek among Thais, managed to secure a 1-1 draw in their latest World Cup qualifying match against South Korea yesterday, March 21.

While many football enthusiasts rushed home from work to watch the match, two Thai MPs were stuck in Parliament. Determined not to let this stop them from cheering on the home team, they pressed pause on the parliamentary session and watched the match on a tablet.

Despite neglecting their parliamentary duties and watching football while on duty, the MPs further tarnished their image by streaming the video through an illegal website, prominently displaying a gambling site logo at the top of the screen.

Their actions garnered the attention of Thai reporters within Parliament, resulting in the images going viral on Thai social media and igniting controversy among netizens.

According to a report by the news agency Workpoint Today, the two MPs belonged to the Pheu Thai Party and were seen cheering on the national team while other members were engaged in discussions regarding the 2024 budget, valued at over 3.4 trillion baht.

Online controversy

In addition to neglecting their duties, numerous Thai netizens voiced complaints regarding the MPs’ decision to watch the match on an illegal gambling advertisement website instead of accessing the free livestream available on ThaiRath TV and Chang Suek’s YouTube channel.

Thai netizens called on the two MPs to explain their actions and apologise to the public for neglecting their duties. Some said they should be punished for their actions, while others said it was no big deal.

“They were not watching porn. Later complain when they are watching porn OK?”

“MPs with a salary of over 100,000 baht looking for free steam?”

“Let’s check his tablet to see if he also has a gambling website account or not.”

“Authorities tell people that gambling is illegal, but Thai police chiefs are allegedly involved in gambling operation, and two MPs watch football on gambling website.”

“I feel sorry that my tax has been wasted on this kind of MPs.”

“How do you know the MPs are from the Pheu Thai Party?”

Reporters from multiple news agencies, today, March 22, asked the Leader of the Pheu Thai Party, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, about the issue. In the interview, the party leader stated…

“Is there anyone here watching the match on illegal websites? Everyone can access the illegal website, so we have to talk about this issue as well. Everyone should choose the legal sites and channels, so we should think about how we can give everyone access to the legal ones. Yes, I admit that those two should not watch the game at that time. I will warn them.”

As of now, it remains uncertain whether the two MPs will face punishment for violating parliamentary ethics.

บรรยากาศภายในห้องประชุม สภาผู้แทนราษฎร ระหว่างการพิจารณา ร่างพระราชบัญญัติ (พ.ร.บ.) งบประมาณรายจ่ายประจำปีงบประมาณ 2567 วงเงิน 3.48 ล้านล้านบาท วาระที่ 2 เป็นวันที่ 2 ในวันนี้ (21 มี.ค. 67)

พบว่า บริเวณที่นั่ง สส. พรรคเพื่อไทย มีการเปิดจอการถ่ายทอดสด การแข่งขันฟุตบอลโลก 2026… pic.twitter.com/Y7Hb3vugQ1

— TODAY (@todayth) March 21, 2024