A woman who asked that her name be withheld said she and her family had prepared food to give to monks at a temple on the occasion of her birthday.

However, at the temple she found a sign saying the abbot

was not in.

So she gave alms to a monk who told her that most monks had been watching all the World Cup matches and were too exhausted to wake up next morning.

When she was about to leave the temple, she saw the abbot and some other bleary-eyed monks stumbling from the residence where the sign declared that the abbot was not in.

Wallop Namwongprom, a member of a monks' administration committee, said it was not against the rules for monks to watch football.

"But their viewing TV will be considered against the rules if it affects their morning activities," he said.

It would surely be considered a serious violation if they were involved in gambling, he said.

"We beg senior monks to act properly and warn their juniors to refrain from any improper activities concerning the World Cup," he said.

Meanwhile, Phra Kru Sophonkaweewat, deputy abbot of Jedee Lung Wiharn Temple in Chiang Mai, said the temple has a school and a university for monks under its jurisdiction, attended by some 700 ordained students.

"We have issued strict regulations for the student monks during the World Cup," he said.

"We allow them to watch some matches but they are prohibited from watching all of them and engaging in noisy cheering.

"And no gambling is allowed," he said.

If anyone violates the rules or excessive TV viewing affects their studies, the maximum penalty is dismissal, he said.

The Nation

Chiang Mai