Mr. Nguyen Hong Thanh: 'No one can cover up for referee Chien's wrongdoings'

(Baonghean.vn)- As a member of the VFF Executive Committee, VPF Board of Directors, General Director of SLNA Football Joint Stock Company, Chairman of SLNA Club, Mr. Nguyen Hong Thanh had an interview with Nghe An Newspaper reporter about the behavior of referee Ha Anh Chien in the recent match between SLNA and Thanh Hoa.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Thanh

PV:What do you think about referee Ha Minh Chien's behavior in awarding an 'imaginary' penalty in the recent match between SLNA and Thanh Hoa?

Mr. Nguyen Hong Thanh:Regarding this issue, SLNA Club has submitted a petition to VFF and the tournament organizing committee for them to handle in order. The behavior of referee Chien in the recent match between SLNA and Thanh Hoa, everyone in the country knows, was completely wrong, intentional. There are situations on the field where the referee standing in this position, another position may not be visible so he can make a wrong call, the same in the world. But here it can be 100% confirmed that the referee was completely wrong, intentionally making a wrong call, not accidentally. Because the distance between the point of the error and the referee is easy to detect. When the assistant referee spoke, the main referee affirmed that he was responsible. That means he made a wrong call on purpose. This error will certainly be handled very severely. The organizing committee will handle this in order, first of all, suspend him from refereeing for a number of matches, then the referee committee will meet to evaluate and make recommendations to the VFF Disciplinary Committee, the VPF organizing committee. Maybe people will not use this referee anymore.

In the world, referees can also make mistakes, maybe suspend some matches, but this case is completely different. Referee Chien's wrongdoing is known to everyone in the country. In this situation, many referees will not find fault, even if they are decent referees, they will give a yellow card to Thanh Hoa player Omar for pretending to dive to trick the referee into awarding a penalty.

Now no one can cover for anyone else when the wrongdoings of referee Chien are clear, everyone can see, from the audience to the media. Meanwhile, the Organizing Committee also wants to organize a fair and honest tournament, so people will handle it seriously.

PV:According to you, what solutions are needed to rectify the current refereeing work in V.League?

Mr. Nguyen Hong Thanh:Before each season, the VFF assigns the Referee Board to organize referee training on the rules and working methods. Each match has a referee supervisor to report on the referee's work in each match. In addition, there is the supervision of tens of thousands of fans and the media following the matches, so it is difficult to hide wrongdoings.

The organizers always teach the right thing, if you do wrong, you will be severely punished. If you violate ideology or are weak in expertise, you will not be employed anymore.

PV:In your opinion, how did the referee's misconduct affect the match?

Mr. Nguyen Hong Thanh:In football, the referee's actions have a great influence on the match, even the whole tournament. As in the case of the 2002 World Cup held in Korea, the referees' bias towards the home team, eliminating the Italian team in the semi-finals, caused the result of the most awaited tournament on the planet in 4 years to be reversed. The efforts of a team for 4 years were wasted. The Italian press at that time called the referee "a robber in broad daylight". Or in the 1986 World Cup, Maradona was a world-famous player but he used his hand to put the ball into the net and was still recognized by the referee, causing the English team to be eliminated.

The referees' behavior greatly affects the outcome of the match - Illustration photo

In a country, because of the referee, there are tournaments where one team should have won the championship but because of the referee, another team won, or a team could have stayed in the league but because of the referee's unfair treatment, they were forced to be relegated. In general, referees have a great influence on the results of football. In addition, the referee's wrong handling of the game also affects and inhibits the psychology of the players, the coaches, and the fans, but that is part of football. Such phenomena can always happen in football, both in the world and in Vietnam.

PV:As the leader of a football club, what methods do you have to motivate players and the team when they are unfairly treated by the referee?

Mr. Nguyen Hong Thanh:Before each match, we have some measures to educate the players about refereeing. For sensitive matches, we ask the Organizing Committee to pay attention to the arrangement of referees to control the match. Before the meeting, we thoroughly instruct the players to avoid handling the ball that can be penalized by the referee, especially in the 16m50 area.

In away matches, we also tell the players in advance that the referees may favor the home team due to the pressure of the audience and other issues, so we have to consider all possible situations. If it happens, we advise the players to stay calm, because that is part of the game. We have to strive and accept it to improve. As players, we have to understand that in football there may be bad situations, the referee may be wrong, but the team leaders and fans will recognize our efforts and attempts, we have to accept the home team and improve. Any problems that are right or wrong will be handled by the Organizing Committee.

Coach Ngo Quang Truong reacts to the referee. Photo: Thanh Tung.

PV:Although it cannot change the result of the match, and may even cause a bad impression, why did SLNA Club still submit a petition to the Organizing Committee?

Mr. Nguyen Hong Thanh:I sent it to the Organizing Committee to have my opinion on what is right and wrong, and to let the fans of the whole country and SLNA know that I have an attitude of never accepting such wrongdoing. We have a clear attitude. The handling is up to the Organizing Committee, the Referee Committee, and the Disciplinary Committee.

PV:Thank you for this conversation!

Duc Chuyen(Perform)