Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio are bracing for a big blow to their dignity, pride and finances less than a week after soccer in the nation reached its peak when the national team won the World Cup final.

Only last week, the Italian footballers were hailed as "gladiators" who restored sportsmanship and dignity to the football-crazed nation. Now the future of these very same players remains uncertain. They may soon be laid off by their clubs. Do they deserve such a brutal fate, or should these villains/heroes be granted some mercy?

Which brings us to something similar happening at home. Thailand's Constitution Court on Thursday agreed to consider legal cases that could lead to the dissolution of five political parties including the ruling Thai Rak Thai Party and the main opposition, the Democrat Party, over charges of electoral fraud. The Thai court's 15 judges unanimously decided to consider charges that the Thai Rak Thai Party illegally financed fringe groups to contest the election to boost the polls' credibility after the boycott. In essence, the Thai Rak Thai Party faces a poll-fixing charge. The Democrat Party meanwhile, is facing three charges, including a claim that the nation's oldest party was trying to obstruct campaigning efforts for the April 2 election, and to undermine democratic rule by calling for a royalty-appointed prime minister and boycotting the election.

Both parties now have 15 days to submit evidence to deny the allegations, which, if proven to be true, could result in the dissolution of the parties - which command roughly 20 million votes in Thailand.

Like Italian football, Thai elections have long been infamous for underhanded tactics on the part of participants. Vote-buying allegations are as commonplace in elections as the sight of Italian footballers diving at the penalty box is in soccer.

Even so, there has been widespread debate in Italy as to whether tribunal judges should be lenient toward the football clubs in question for the magnificent contribution they made by winning the World Cup. Defence Minister Clemente Mastella has even called for amnesty in honour of the footballers' great achievement. However, amnesty might not be an appropriate option as a total of 26 people, including club managers and referees, have been indicted on charges of fraud and unfair behaviour in Italian football.

In Thailand, supporters of the two most popular political parties cry foul over their possible dissolution. One key argument is that around 16 million voters came out in support of the Thai Rak Thai Party in April and the Democrat Party commands a legion of long-standing supporters. Facing gigantic dilemmas, both Italian and Thai judges have to come up with a just ruling, which may run against the wishes of the majority of the people.

Despite the glory brought to the country by the World Cup, the head of the Italian Football Association, Guido Rossi, was not in a mood to offer a compromise. He considered the pending ruling as a means to restore dignity back to the game, thus laying a new foundation for scandal-plagued Italian football.

The judges' verdict may finally run against that of the court of public opinion. But if the accused teams get away unscathed, it could undermine Italian football in the long run.

Thai judges may find the cases before them even more complicated because different charges were filed against different political parties. Nonetheless, the judges didn't rule out the possibility that the parties could be dissolved and their leaders barred from forming new ones for five years. If this is the case, the legal ruling could further delay the next election. The court's new president, Ura Wang-ormklang, on Thursday told reporters that judges would try to ensure that the trials are fair. Some observers believe that the court would not dare punish one party while letting the other walk free but Ura insisted that the judges would try the cases with an absolutely non-prejudicial approach. Thais are now eagerly waiting for the Court's deliberations, hoping that the ruling will pave the way for solving the current political crisis. Regardless of what the court of public opinion may say, the judges' verdict should set a benchmark for political reform in the future.

It's a time of soul-searching for both the Thai and Italian judges. Leniency and forgiveness only works when overall justice is served. No matter how difficult the cases in both countries may seem, the right answer will have to do with that simple question of whether the rulings will benefit Italian football and Thai politics - not at the present time but in the long run

 Jeerawat Na Thalang.