The test and why Shinawatra will pass

Thaksin Shinawatra must pass the rigours of the

Premier League's 'fit and

proper person test'

before he can complete his

takeover at Manchester

City.

Will a man with Thaksin's

controversial background,

with so many accusations

swirling about in his native

Thailand, possibly pass it?

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Well, in truth, yes, he

probably will. If he doesn't,

then he will be the first to

fail.

The fit and proper

persons' test — now D.2.4 in

the Premier League rule

book — was initially a

recommendation of the

Football Task Force,

discussed at length and

finally introduced three

years ago.

It was then beefed up and

expanded to include extra

offences at last year's

annual meeting.

The idea is to stop the bad

guys sailing into the cashrich

world of the Premier

League to defraud our

national game of millions of

pounds. A schedule of 24 offences are applied to

owners, directors, shadow

directors and anyone who

owns more than 30 per cent

of a club.

Equivalent convictions

from recognised foreign

courts also count, whether

that is in France, the U.S. or

even Thailand.

Individuals convicted of

any of the listed offences

will fail the test. That list

includes theft, conspiracy

to defraud, fraudulent

trading, forgery and various

tax evasions.

Football hooliganism is

also covered in the sense

that anyone subject to a

banning order under the

Football (Disorder) Act

2000 cannot take any of the

specified roles.

Initially, individuals are

asked to declare all convictions

on a form. But if

suspicion persists, the

Premier League will employ

corporate intelligence

experts to make further

investigations.

This has happened several

times in the past three

years and the evidence is

then submitted to the

board for consideration.

Thaksin is expected to be

investigated but, on the

face of things, he looks

unlikely to fail. Despite

corruption charges being

filed against him in

Thailand, he has not been

convicted.

He has been living in

London since he was

toppled as Prime Minister

but said yesterday that he

intends to return to Thailand

and fight the charges,

although he was not

prepared to say when.

If he was to be found

guilty of anything by a Thai

court, the Premier League

would then have to decide

whether that court was fair

and whether the convictions

were relevant.

The nature of politics in

Thailand further muddies

the issue. It is common

practice for those in power

to darken the reputation of

their opponents and this

will certainly be taken into

account.