An Australian A-League team has been criticised for playing a football match in war-torn Myanmar against official government travel advice, with some observers calling the decision dangerous.
Key points:
- Asian Football Confederation Schedules Match in Crisis-Stricken Myanmar
- Activists concerned about Shan United’s owner and business links to military
- Calls to reject Shan United visas ahead of Australia match
The Macarthur Bulls, a team from southwest Sydney, beat Myanmar side Shan United 3-0 in an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup match at Yangon’s near-empty Thuwunna Stadium in late September.
Human rights groups have raised concerns about Shan United’s ownership and its links to companies controlled by Myanmar’s military junta. including one sanctioned by Australia.
Some are now calling for Shan United players to be refused visas to Australia ahead of their next match on November 30.
The Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) continues to advise Australians “not to travel” to Myanmar “due to ongoing civil unrest, armed conflict and the volatile security environment” following the 2021 military coup.
“Violence, including explosions and attacks, can occur anywhere and at any time, including in Yangon,” the Smartraveller advisory said, adding that attacks could be planned against locations frequented by foreigners and Australians could be at risk of arbitrary detention.
“We encourage all Australians to heed this advice,” DFAT told the ABC.
The ABC understands DFAT officials have spoken to Macarthur Football Club management and Football Australia to reiterate the government’s official travel advice.
Myanmar is not excluded from international competitions and its women’s team recently played against Vietnam at the Southeast Asian Games. (Reuters: Chalinee Thirasupa)
In a statement, Macarthur said it was a member of Football Australia, the Asian Football Confederation and therefore FIFA.
“As such, we operate within the regulatory framework adopted and implemented by the governance of these organisations,” the club said.
Football Australia requested that the match be moved to a neutral venue, but this was refused. (Macarthur’s Bulls)
Football Australia told the ABC that if Macarthur had not played the match in Yangon, the club would have been forced to withdraw from the competition.
“Both Macarthur FC and Football Australia formally requested that the match be moved to neutral territory, taking into account DFAT’s travel advice. The club also offered to cover the cost of the trip, but the request was declined,” a Football Australia spokesperson said.
“Having exhausted these alternatives, the club has taken the decision to play this match as planned and scheduled.
“Football Australia has organised security in line with other football events played overseas and no incidents occurred while the team was in Yangon for a short period.”
The ABC understands fines can also be imposed – three A-League teams played in the AFC Asian Champions League in Qatar in 2020 despite COVID-19 concerns because they faced a $300,000 fine and a two-year ban from the tournament if they withdrew.
“What were the football coaches thinking?”
Sean Turnell, an Australian economist arbitrarily detained by Myanmar’s military junta for more than 650 days, told the ABC the decision to play football in the country where he was incarcerated was questionable.
“I think it’s extremely unwise for an Australian football team to go to Myanmar,” he said.
“Politically, this visit is imprudent – the regime could use it to suggest international acceptance – but it is also imprudent for security reasons.”
Sean Turnell and his wife Ha Vu were reunited last year after his arrest in Myanmar. (ABC News: Brendan Esposito)
Chris Sidoti, a member of the Special Advisory Council on Myanmar, said this was surprising given the “absolutely appalling” security situation in the country.
“This Australian football team went to Yangon – a place where there are murders and bombings every day – against the advice of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,” he said.
“Really, what were the football coaches thinking? This was putting their team in great danger.”
More than 4,000 people have been killed and more than 24,000 arrested since the February 1, 2021 coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma).
But Mr Sidoti said even if it had been safe, it would have been inappropriate.
“Organizing a football match in Yangon is really cooperating with the military and relying on them, because you cannot enter Yangon International Airport without the military’s approval,” he said.
DFAT said the Australian government “strongly condemns the ongoing repression and violence by the Burmese regime”.
The AFC has been contacted for comment.
Shan United, owned by “cronyism”
Activist group Justice For Myanmar has expressed concern about Shan United’s ownership and its links to military-controlled companies.
Shan United is owned by Kun Naung Myint Wai, chairman of Wa Minn Corporation.
Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing pictured with Shan United FC chairman Kun Naung Myint Wai in 2019. (Facebook: Shan United FC)
Wa Minn Corporation is the developer of the Manawhari shopping complex, which sits on land leased from the Ministry of Defense, according to Myanmar Investment Commission data last updated in 2019 and published by Distributed Denial of Secrets, a journalism organization focused on transparency and data.
The Ministry of Defense has been sanctioned by the United States since June this year on the atrocities committed by the military regime.
Data last updated in 2018 also shows Kun Naung Myint Wai’s name as an investor in the Yangon Riverview complex, on land owned by the Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC).
The MEC is a military-controlled entity subject to targeted financial sanctions by Australia since February this year.
It is unclear whether payments to the Defence Ministry and the MEC continued after the coup and sanctions, although the Manawhari project is listed as “ongoing” on Wa Minn’s website.
The Wa Minn Corporation was contacted to inquire about Kun Naung Myint Wai’s involvement in the projects, but the ABC did not receive a response by deadline.
“As a company with business links to the Burmese military, Wa Minn Group should be targeted for sanctions and its employees, including the Shan United football team, should be denied visas to Australia,” said Yadanar Maung, spokesperson for Justice For Myanmar.
“As a member of the AFC, Football Australia should take a stand in support of democracy in Myanmar by pushing for Burmese teams to be banned while the military’s illegal coup attempt continues.”
Myanmar Football Association President Zaw Zaw is vice-president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Zaw Zaw is also the Max Myanmar PresidentA 2019 report by the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar found that he donated nearly US$1 million in 2017 to the military to build a fence along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.
The mission found that funding for the border wall “played a critical role in the inhumane act of preventing the Rohingya from accessing their homeland” and said Max Myanmar officials should be investigated for possible criminal prosecution for aiding and abetting the persecution of the Rohingya “and other inhumane acts.”
Calls for visa bans and new sanctions
The Australia-based Myanmar Campaign Network is calling for a new round of sanctions against Myanmar.
Tasneem Roc (left) says Australia should impose more sanctions on Myanmar. (Provided by Tasneem Roc)
“This is a critical moment for Australia to act decisively and sanction these financial institutions and their accomplices,” said activist Tasneem Roc.
Mr Sidoti, who has studied the military’s business links as part of the UN fact-finding mission and the Special Advisory Council, said the accomplices operate by enriching the military and enriching themselves.
“This football club would not operate this way, and the business of the owner of the football club would not operate so profitably in Myanmar without close cooperation with the military – that I can say with certainty,” he said.
“This is how the crony business works in Myanmar. And it’s mutually rewarding for the military and the entrepreneurs behind these businesses.”
Chris Sidoti believes playing football in Burma risks legitimising the junta. (Four corners)
He endorsed calls by Justice For Myanmar and the Myanmar Campaign Network for the Shan United visas to be rejected.
The Home Office said it was considering visa applications on a case-by-case basis.
“The visas should definitely be refused and the match should definitely not go ahead,” Mr Sidoti said.
“It’s outrageous to think that an official Myanmar football team is about to come to Australia when we know what’s happening in that country.”
