Is the flag waving 'programmed'?

Spectators were upset with the referee's decision in the match between Hanoi Police and Song Lam Nghe An. Photo: Hai Hoang

Controversial flag waving

The match between host Cong An Ha Noi and Song Lam Nghe An has been over for 4 days, but the wave of criticism against linesman Nguyen Thanh Son and the referee team on duty in that match is still boiling all over the internet.

The SLNA FC fan page - SLNA Fan Club has many angry comments such as: "The referee contributes to pushing Vietnamese football backward". And many other sarcastic comments from the audience.

Talking about the disastrous flag waving of linesman Nguyen Thanh Son,Head of the VFF Referee Board Dang Thanh Ha affirmed: "Clearly, the linesman made a wrong offside call, affecting the match." The flag waving, whether intentional or not, took away a valid goal from coach Huy Hoang and his team. Before the main referee disallowed the goal, Song Lam Nghe An led the home team 1-0 and was in a good position against the opponent. However, later in the second half, the Nghe team conceded 2 goals and let the home team successfully come back.

Linesman Nguyen Thanh Son - the one who raised the flag to blow offside for Song Lam Nghe An. Photo: Hai Hoang

This is just a subjective inference, but if Song Lam Nghe An leads by 2 goals, the match will likely go in a different direction. The away team will probably get the desired result when leaving Hang Day. Because at that time, the playing mentality of Que Ngoc Hai and his teammates will be different. They will be more flexible and clear-headed in each phase of the ball. In addition, the tactics that coach Huy Hoang brings in the second half will also be more favorable because of that. It can be affirmed that the referee's goal rejection situation is the key point of this match. It has directly affected the final result. And Song Lam Nghe An will invisibly face many disadvantages in the race to enter the group of 8 teams after the end of phase 1 of V.League 2023.

It is an undeniable fact that refereeing mistakes are part of football. However, the mistake of linesman Nguyen Thanh Son is hard to understand. In the offside situation, Mr. Son stood in a position that was not obstructed from view, had prepared in advance but quickly raised the flag as if it had been “programmed”. This caused outrage among Nghe An football lovers in particular and decent football lovers in general.

If the VFF Referee Board does not analyze and thoroughly understand the issue, the loss of trust from fans in Vietnam's No. 1 Football Tournament will gradually appear.

A temporary message to calm public opinion was released from the Head of the VFF Referee Board that, “that situation was clearly wrong, we don’t need to say much more. However, the issue of why assistant referee Nguyen Thanh Son made the wrong decision is what needs to be analyzed.”

I hope that relevant agencies will quickly clarify this issue so that the audience can understand and avoid losing confidence in the country's football.

Breakthrough solutions are needed from the VFF Referee Board

The final rounds of the first leg of V.League 2023 are extremely important for the teams competing for the championship. Because in the second phase of the season, V.League will be divided into 2 groups, in addition to the group of 8 teams competing for the championship, the group of 6 teams is equally important. This group will compete to escape the risk of relegation. Therefore, these rounds will be very sensitive, requiring impartial, objective referees with professional competence, without ideological problems to control. Avoid unnecessary mistakes like in the match between Hanoi Police and Song Lam Nghe An.

The VFF Arbitration Board needs to develop solutions to avoid the problems that have existed for many years. Photo: Hai Hoang

The immediate solution that the VFF Referee Board has proposed for the final rounds of phase 1 of V.League 2023 is to hire foreign referee teams to officiate some important matches. Specifically, Thai referees will be assigned to officiate some important matches in rounds 10 and 11 of V.League 2023.

However, the Head of the VFF Referee Committee also hopes that VAR will soon be applied in the V.League. "We just hope that VAR technology will soon be applied in the V.League. At that time, mistakes similar to those in the match between Hanoi Police and Song Lam Nghe An will definitely not happen."

In the long term, in addition to applying modern techniques to assist referees, the VFF Referee Board needs to build strong enough sanctions to deter individuals who make serious mistakes. Accordingly, it is necessary to distinguish whether the referee is wrong due to professional factors or because of a negative "smell" in it.

To do this, it is thought that the arbitration board needs to coordinate closely with the authorities to analyze and investigate when there are considered to be unusual problems.

Many fans believe that Song Lam Nghe An and some other weak teams are under pressure from outside the profession. This is unacceptable for a football that wants to approach the world level. Therefore, the limitations and shortcomings in refereeing need to be seriously dissected, in order to restore fairness in football and make V.League a clean, worth-watching tournament.

Duc Anh