The Football Association of Thailand (FAT) yesterday confirmed that Thai-Swiss Charyl Chappuis is ineligible to play for the Kingdom in the Asian Cup.
Charyl Chappuis
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has informed the FAT that the Buriram United midfielder cannot play for Thailand in their Asian Cup qualifier in Lebanon on Friday because he played for Switzerland when they won the U17 World Cup in 2009.
This caused confusion in the Thai camp as several players around the world played for a country at junior level before switching to another country at full international level.
FAT secretary-general Ong-arj Kosinkha told yesterday's press conference that the AFC regulations state that "any player who has already participated in a match, either in full or in part, in an official competition of any category or any type of football for one association may not play an international match for a representative team of another association
"Therefore, Charyl Chappuis cannot play for the Thai national team in the Asian Cup."
Chappuis, whose mother is Thai and who holds dual citizenship, is in the Thai squad for the Lebanon match and Ong-arj admitted that the FAT did not know the AFC rules.
He said he was not sure if Chappuis, 21, would be eligible to play for Thailand in other competitions, such as the SEA Games and the World Cup.
Asked why Thai-American Anthony Ampaipitakwong is eligible to play for Thailand, Ong-arj said the Buriram United midfielder has never played for the US at any level.
Meanwhile, Thailand lost 1-0 to Qatar in Doha in a warm-up match on Sunday evening.
The Thais will leave for Beirut today and will take on Lebanon in their second match of the 2015 Asian Cup qualifying campaign. Both sides need a result after they suffered defeats in their opening games.