According to VnExpress sources, representatives from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) met directly with President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) Tran Quoc Tuan in Thailand today. Asia's largest football organization stated that the referees' decision to disallow Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy's valid goal in the match against the Philippines was a serious error in a pivotal moment, directly affecting the match's outcome and fairness.
The AFC committed to reviewing the incident and taking appropriate measures to prevent similar situations. While disciplinary action was not directly mentioned, assistant referee Chanthavong Phutsavan is highly likely to be banned from some international matches.
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Assistant referee Chanthavong Phutsavan during the match where Vietnam lost to the Philippines in the SEA Games 33 women's football final, at Chonburi stadium, Thailand on 17/12. *Photo: Duc Dong* |
While the SEA Games fall under the Southeast Asian Games Federation, all football tournaments and refereeing across Asia are under the professional management of the AFC. Following established procedures, the AFC will rely on the report from referee supervisor Yongmei Cui to assess the extent of the error and determine appropriate disciplinary action.
The controversial incident occurred in the 29th minute of the match at Chonburi stadium on 17/12. Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy headed the ball into the Philippine net from inside the penalty area, following a pass from the right wing by Ngan Thi Van Su. Despite the Vietnamese player being approximately 2 meters ahead of the last Philippine defender (Hali Long), assistant referee Chanthavong decisively raised her flag for offside, leading main referee Durcau Rebecca (Australia) to disallow the goal for Vietnam.
Football at the SEA Games does not feature video assistant referee (VAR) technology for review, unlike sports such as volleyball, futsal, sepak takraw, or pencak silat. Consequently, the referees' decisions stood.
The moment Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy scored, but the goal was disallowed in the match against the Philippines. |
After the goal was unfairly disallowed, the Vietnamese players continued to strive, creating numerous opportunities but failing to convert them. Following 120 minutes of a 0-0 draw, the defending champions lost 5-6 in the penalty shootout. After the match, Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy and many teammates were visibly devastated.
The incident also sparked outrage on many global football forums, such as Reddit Soccer. Threads discussing this situation attracted hundreds of comments, becoming among the most attention-grabbing on the forum. Most users expressed surprise at the referee's inexplicable handling, calling for disciplinary action against assistant referee Chanthavong, who has worked in international competitions since 2019 and is Laos' only FIFA female assistant referee.
Hieu Luong
