Vietnam's football field: Referees, both weak and lacking

(Baonghean.vn) - For many reasons, the number of Vietnamese football referees has been noticeably decreasing in recent years.

In this year's First Division, there are 27 referees and 25 assistants; V.League 2017 has only 19 referees and 25 assistants... with the assignment having to ensure many factors such as: locality, nature of the match... there is always "lack of the front, lack of the back".

It is obvious to everyone that Vietnamese football is not professional enough and that referees are the weakest link in this sport.

In the 2017 V-League season, the Referee Board and Disciplinary Board were the two units that received the most public criticism, including VPF itself, which had to send an official dispatch to VFF:

“In 2018, there will be 2 referees and 3 assistants who are past their age limit. The referee force is thin, while the assignment of referees must ensure many factors such as: locality, nature of the match...

Therefore, the current number of referees will not meet the demand for use in professional tournaments. Therefore, VPF respectfully requests the VFF Executive Committee to pay special attention to referee work, especially the training and development of successor forces.

The oddball field

Despite pressure from public opinion and many VFF officials, the Head of the Referee Committee Nguyen Van Mui was finally no longer assigned to referees. From round 11 of V.League 2017, along with the First Division and National Cup, Deputy Head Duong Van Hien took over this task, but that did not reduce the number of incidents on the field.

Referee Van Lap had to sit and drink water after his whistle was blown. Photo: Internet

Referee mistakes are part of football, but the mistakes of Vietnamese referees are truly ridiculous.

Vietnamese referees are making it difficult for players and spectators to know what to do. When a player kicks the ball into the net, it's not certain that it's a goal, but they have to wait for the opponent to... recognize it or not.

Recently, when the FLC Thanh Hoa guest players continuously reacted, in an increasing direction, referee Lap changed his mind, consulted with the second assistant Minh Dang and decided to "blow the whistle", penalize Wander Luiz for offside, and disallow Long An's goal.

"I know, the referees here have group relationships. In my long career, I know, they have a group working together," Coach Le Huynh Duc bitterly said about the current situation of referees in Vietnam.

Not a professional player, but recently former goalkeeper Truong An of An Giang unexpectedly accused referee Tran Van Lap of being a traitor, saying provocative things to players on the field and even having a gloating attitude when witnessing goalkeeper Truong An leave the field with a torn ligament.

That was a match in the First Division when An Giang lost 2-3 to Nam Dinh in the 2011-2012 First Division season, playing with only 9 players on the field. With the thoughts and words of the coach and players like that, it is true that Vietnamese football referees are just men who know how to blow the whistle rather than the ones who hold the scales and judges on the field.

"Buy" trust

I agree with the opinion of the head of the Referee Board, Nguyen Van Mui: "If the leaders and players of the teams keep putting pressure and reacting unprofessionally, it will make the referees waver and it will be difficult to control the match accurately. The important thing is still the professionalism of the clubs and players."

Deputy Head of the Referee Board Duong Van Hien was assigned to assign the "king of the field" to officiate the matches. Photo: Internet

But how do you answer when for so long the “poor” teams, who do not put pressure on the referees, the tournament organizers have always suffered losses. Is it possible that the referees’ behavior has created a bad precedent for the coaching staff, players and lost the trust of the audience?

Malaysian referee Zamzaidi Katimin will officiate the match between Quang Nam and Than Quang Ninh. This is the second foreign referee that the V-League 2017 Organizing Committee has invited to officiate the match.

It is clear how much Vietnamese referees are losing the trust of the audience, the coaching staff and the players. The presence of foreign referees first of all helps the team have something to hold on to, to put their faith in fairness.

But clearly, a national tournament that has to hire foreign referees is a slap in the face to the quality of football, especially the referees. VFF is hiring foreign referees, essentially spending money to “buy trust” for the audience and the clubs. Not a cheap price, dear kings of the Vietnamese football field!

An Thanh