FA Thailand says protecting players is allowed but finds Park Hang-seo's response to the supporters improper

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FA Thailand suspends Park Hang-seo two matches for confronting Pattaya United fans it found had racially abused him and his player

On November 1, 2026, Kanchanaburi Power FC drew 2-2 away to Pattaya United in Thai League 2 at Nong Prue Stadium in Pattaya. After the match, Kanchanaburi head coach Park Hang-seo, who was serving a suspension for that game, argued with Pattaya United supporters near the walkway to the dressing rooms. Korean and Vietnamese outlets reported that spectators repeatedly called Park "kimchi man", a slur against Koreans, and that Park first signaled for quiet and then shouted at them to come down. Kanchanaburi's president said the words monkey and kimchi were used, and forward John Baggio said a foreign man had called him a monkey. On November 6, Park's management agency said he had protested to stop continuing insults and racist abuse of Baggio, as part of a coach's responsibility to protect his players. On November 11, FA Thailand published the decision of its Disciplinary and Ethics Committee. The committee found that supporters it described as foreign nationals shouted racist abuse at Park, rejecting their denial after reviewing video. It also found that, although it could not identify who shouted skin-color abuse at Baggio, his account placed it in the Pattaya United supporters' area, which was enough to penalize the supporters. It imposed two fines of 20,000 baht over the supporters' conduct. It said acting to protect players is permissible but must stay within the bounds of appropriateness and maturity, found that Park had beckoned the supporters to come down and face him, and suspended him for two matches with a 13,333 baht fine.