When the 'kings' increasingly lose their prestige

(Baonghean.vn) - Recently, at Nha Trang Stadium, FIFA referee Phung Dinh Dung denied a valid goal (1-1 equalizer) of S.Khanh Hoa against QNK.Quang Nam, causing the V-League 2016 Organizing Committee, the Referee Board and everyone else to just shake their heads in dismay. But on Vietnam's football field, it's not just Mr. Dung's story!

Among many humorous stories about Vietnamese football, people remember the two "kings of the football field" the most, which I'm sure if FIFA knew, they would include in the classic curriculum for referees.

"King" without card

In the 17th round match between QNK.Quang Nam and HAGL, in the 18th minute, at Tam Ky Stadium, Van Toan dribbled the ball in the circle of three home team Quang Nam players and was fouled. Referee Nguyen Trung Kien blew the whistle, touched his pocket… startled and immediately ran out of the touchline. It turned out that he forgot to bring his card…, had to “borrow” it from the fourth referee, luckily he had a card. Quang Nam audiences were rolling on the floor laughing… because it had been a long time since the world had witnessed such humorous images of a king of the field. Without a card, would they still have the prestige of being “king of the field”?

Referee Nguyen Trung Kien was once criticized by SLNA.

Recalling the former referee Duong Manh Hung - the first Golden Whistle (2006) recently declared: "It is very normal for referees to gamble and gamble. 80-90% of referees on duty gamble for money. Some referees even bet on international football. They also cannot avoid gambling and lottery in life. I affirm that referees have this problem."

People think of the image of the “kings” nodding off gambling all night, only to close their eyes when it’s time to go out on the field, then frantically open their eyes and forget about the penalty card, like “leaving the buffalo to plow”. Normally, who can forget?

Too bad, oh "kings of the field" of Vietnamese football!

"Haunted"

Up to now, FIFA referees Vo Minh Tri and Phung Dinh Dung are considered seniors in the refereeing world, this is also his last season because according to FIFA regulations, he is past his legal age. But there is a king who has just admitted that he is “possessed by a ghost” and therefore has “technical errors”.

In the 90+2 minute of the match between S.Khanh Hoa BVN and QNK Quang Nam, when the home team was losing 1-0, two away team players "accidentally" collided and got hurt, and the QNK QN player kicked the ball out of bounds for medical staff to take care of.

Referee Phung Dinh Dung

S.Khanh Hoa BVN player brought the ball into play without returning it to the opponent. Then, from this situation, Uche scored against QNK QN. Immediately, referee Phung Dinh Dung did not recognize the goal due to a fair play violation and faced strong opposition from the coaching staff as well as fans of the coastal city team.

A perfectly valid goal, any amateur referee would recognize the goal without thinking, but the FIFA referee did not think so: “At that time, my mind was thinking about fair play, then I mistook this situation for a situation where the referee threw the ball, a player of a team did not play fair, kicked and scored immediately, then I had the right to not accept the goal. If only I discovered my mistake right after that, I could have corrected it in time... I also do not understand why, after so many years of experience, I could have made such a mistake. Everything was as if a ghost did it”, shared the most experienced referee in Vietnam.

According to the head of the referee board, Nguyen Van Mui, this will be a "point sentence" and this veteran king may be "permanently suspended", an extremely severe sentence. Because those who understand football understand that a FIFA-class referee, with many years of experience in the profession like Mr. Dung, could not possibly make such a silly mistake, unless he... did it on purpose.

The sentence of “permanent suspension” is very heavy, but some people who are knowledgeable about Vietnamese football are bitter: “The knife is big, the hammer is big, but in reality, according to the schedule, Mr. Dung was only disqualified from 5 main matches and 3 table referee matches. Because if he was not banned, he would have to retire next year… due to being too old”. If not, the referee would not have dared to make such strange, “haunted” decisions of such international significance! The ghost knows the referee’s birth date so it haunts the whistle!

There are more and more "ghosts" on the field, and the audience is increasingly fed up with Vietnamese referees. There is nothing they don't dare to do!

AT