Since being elected president of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) earlier this month, Somyot Poompunmuang has made fast moves to ensure "fairness".
The new FAT executive board on Friday named police chief Chakthip Chaijinda as chairman of Premier League of Thailand Co (PLT), which oversees domestic leagues and has been renamed from Thai Premier League Co (TPL).
It is clear that Pol Gen Somyot, Chakthip’s predecessor as police chief, wants to get rid of wayward officiating which has been a big problem in Thai football.
The appointment of Pol Gen Chakthip as the country’s football league boss came after Somyot named himself as chairman of the referees’ committee and Pol Lt Gen Pisant Juladilok, a former regional police chief, as FAT secretary-general.
There were claims that certain referees received bribes and a notorious match official was shot a few years ago although there was no proof that the shooting had anything to do with his officiating.
Several match officials were attacked by fans who believed they did not perform their duties in a straightforward manner.
The previous administration, led by then FAT president Worawi Makudi and then TPL chairman Ong-art Kosinkar, tried to get rid of the problem with several measures.
They asked journalists to draw lots to assign referees to matches and even used a lie detector to investigate match officials who were suspected of being involved in corruption.
Unfortunately, their efforts failed to bear fruit as biased officiating was still believed to be prevalent.
Some critics argued that picking referees by drawing lots could see inexperienced match officials take charge of big games and they could cause trouble because of their inability rather than corruption.
Only one referee failed a lie detector test and was punished. However, critics believed the referee made "honest mistakes" during the match in question and his performance seemingly was not influenced by outside factors.
Somyot may also want to please Buriram United chairman Newin Chidchob, his close associate and one of his major backers during the election campaign.
During the previous FAT administration, Newin complained that the Thunder Castle were often at the receiving end of what seemed to be biased officiating when they played a certain team.
With an ex-police chief as FAT president, the current police boss as league chairman and a former regional police chief as FAT secretary-general, the fight against corruption in Thai football should become more effective.
However, critics wonder if Pol Gen Chakthip, who is close to Somyot, will have time to look after football matters as he is already too busy in his capacity as the country’s top cop.
Somyot should know something about suppressing corruption. He last week took part in a meeting of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and asked the continental governing body for help in his anti-graft efforts.
However, some critics warn that it could be too tough for Somyot to hold two positions.
They say Somyot should focus on the main policy and assign another person to take charge of the referees’ committee.
One journalist suggests that Somyot should name respected football coach Phanphong Wongsuwan to deal with corruption in match officiating.
Phanphong is younger brother of Defence Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan, a big football fan.
With help from the military under Prawit and active and retired police officers in the Somyot administration, Phanphong may be able to do a good job in getting rid of corruption in football.