Red not Blue

Thanks for your e-mail. For sure, the uproar over whether Thaksin is "fit and proper" to run a Premier League football club will be louder this time if he is convicted.

The previous "fit and proper" question had to do with human-rights accusations. Predictably, the Premier League defended him, saying the "fit and proper" restriction applied generally to legally convicted persons.

"The Fit and Proper Persons Test [FAPPT] means anyone convicted of a range of offences would not be permitted to become a director, or a shadow director, at a club," read a Premier League statement last year.

What is the "range of offences", then?

The FAPPT rules say a person shall be disqualified from club directorship if he is convicted on indictment of an offence set out in the Appendix 12 Schedule of Offences or convicted of a like offence by a competent court having jurisdiction outside England and Wales.

Those offences include: conspiracy to defraud (as in the Criminal Justice Act as well as common law), insider dealing, obtaining by deception, obtaining a money transfer by deception, obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception, false accounting, false statements by company directors, and obtaining services by deception.

Also: suppression of (company) documents, retaining wrongful credit, evasion of liability by deception, cheating the public revenue/making false statements tending to defraud the public revenue, fraudulent evasion of value-added tax.

There is more, but you get the idea. If Thaksin is convicted, the Premier League will have to look into the legitimacy of the verdict and then consider whether the offence falls into any of the categories.

Will yesterday's temporary travel ban on Thaksin ordered by the court make him "unfit" and "improper"?

The ban is temporary and can still be appealed. It will be interesting if the court keeps extending the ban, though.

Did Thaksin appoint Garry Cook from Nike as the club's executive chairman with this legal problem in mind?

One of his Thai aides familiar with Manchester City said this was not the case. Thaksin, the source claimed, only wanted time to promote the club's interests internationally. He simply wanted to work on the marketing side, so to speak.

Can Thaksin appoint a nominee if convicted and keep control of the club?

I can't wait to see how things transpire if he is convicted. The Thai Constitution and laws have been torn to shreds, and now it's the Britons' turn to handle the hot potato.

tulsat@hotmail.com