During the semifinal match on the morning of 16/12 in Bangkok, with the score at 22-35 in favor of Malaysian athlete Muhammad Izzul Irfan Marzuki, Minh Triet took a punch to the neck area. He fell to the mat and lay motionless. The referee stopped the match and signaled for a review after receiving a complaint from the Vietnamese coaching staff. Subsequently, medical personnel were called to attend to Minh Triet.

Nguyen Minh Triet lies on the mat after a punch from Marzuki in the pencak silat men's under 65kg semifinal at SEA Games 33 in Bangkok, Thailand on the morning of 16/12/2025. Photo: Duc Dong

After about two minutes, the referee conferred with the judges, then approached the medical staff, pointing to his wrist, implying they needed to expedite treatment. A moment later, the referee returned to where Minh Triet was lying and helped him up. The 19-year-old athlete did not sit up, instead lying back down on the mat. Consequently, the referee counted time and determined Minh Triet could not continue the fight, leading to his disqualification. He called Marzuki over, held the athlete's hand, while the Vietnamese representative remained on the mat nearby.

The referee intended to immediately declare Marzuki the winner. However, intervention from the judges prompted him to call medical personnel back to carry Minh Triet off the mat without using a stretcher.

This scene caused frustration among many Vietnamese spectators, who believed the Vietnamese athlete did not receive proper medical care and that the referee handled the situation irresponsibly.

On 17/12, the Thairath newspaper quoted Nakrob Thongdaeng, Head of the Technical Committee of the Thailand Pencak Silat Federation (PSAT), who clarified the incident. According to Nakrob, the SEA Games 33 Organizing Committee had a full medical team, specialized doctors, and necessary equipment to monitor and assess the health of athletes during competition.

The referee intended to declare the Malaysian athlete the winner despite Nguyen Minh Triet lying on the mat. Photo: screenshot

Regarding the technical aspect, Nakrob stated that the situation leading to Minh Triet lying on the mat was thoroughly reviewed by the referee and technical supervision committee using the VAR system. The referee team concluded that the Malaysian athlete's strike was not illegal, did not hit the neck, and did not cause serious danger. Under pencak silat rules, strikes to the face and neck are prohibited, but the strike in this match was deemed legal.

"In actual competition, there have been cases where athletes deliberately fell after contact, aiming to force the referee to penalize the opponent and disqualify them," Nakrob said. "This is not uncommon, especially when an athlete is at a disadvantage."

According to the PSAT representative, Marzuki is the reigning SEA Games champion and was highly rated over Minh Triet. Given the score deficit and difficulty, the Thai side suggested the Vietnamese athlete "tried to prolong the situation by lying on the mat, creating the impression of a serious injury to pressure the referee."

Nakrob noted that after Minh Triet fell, the referee asked him to stand up according to procedure, while also calling the medical team onto the mat for examination. Doctors performed a quick on-site assessment, including checking eye reflexes, neck area, and basic neurological signs. The results indicated the injury was within acceptable limits, with no signs of life-threatening danger or need for urgent medical intervention.

The situation that the Thai side claimed Minh Triet faked injury. Video: provided

Therefore, the PSAT confirmed that not using a stretcher, neck brace, or other special first aid measures was consistent with customary practice in pencak silat, when an athlete does not have a serious injury. Subsequently, when Minh Triet could not continue the match, the referee awarded the win to Marzuki according to the rules.

The Thailand Pencak Silat Federation stated it retains full images, video recordings, and medical reports related to the match. They believe that some spectators, who only watched short video clips or did not follow the match live, made misleading assessments of the injury's severity and the referee's handling.

The representative of the technical supervision committee, an Indonesian referee, also confirmed that this incident was not an illegal strike and did not cause serious danger to the Vietnamese athlete. After the match, Minh Triet was reportedly able to carry out daily activities, train, and cheer for teammates normally.

A contrasting case also occurred for Vietnam in the men's 60kg semifinal, when Vu Van Kien was directly disqualified despite holding a significant lead over Thai opponent Janjaroen Tinnapat.

Van Kien completely controlled the match and led 52-34 with only 4 seconds remaining, but in the final strike, his opponent suddenly lowered himself, causing the kick to land on the neck area. After reviewing the video footage following the host nation's complaint, the referee determined Van Kien kicked the face and disqualified him, even though the Vietnamese coaching staff argued the opponent deliberately lunged in to create a foul situation.

Hieu Luong - Xuan Binh