Aggrieved fans, coach slam refereeing mistakes in Vietnam-Myanmar match

By Lam Thoa, Duc Dong   November 21, 2018 | 04:00 pm PT
The Vietnamese coach did not shake hands with his opponent after the match. Fans fumed over unfair refereeing.

A robbed goal, two disallowed penalties and several other calls went against Vietnam, allowing Myanmar to get away with a draw, angry Vietnamese fans claimed after the match.

Aggrieved fans, coach slam refereeing mistakes in Vietnam-Myanmar match

In the 77th minute, Nguyen Van Toan tapped the ball into the net after a shot from outside the box by midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai was stopped by Myanmar custodian Kyaw Zin. Thai linesman Lekhpha Phubes raised the offside flag. Video replays showed Toan was onside at the time Hai took the shot.

The team’s coach Park Hang-seo said he disagreed with the referees’ decisions, too. The final score, a goalless draw, cost Vietnam two valuable points, fans felt.

Commentators remarked that when Hai took a shot, Toan was about half a meter behind Myanmar’s last defender.

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In the stands in Myanmar and all across Vietnam, the raucous shouts of celebrations turned into groans of disappointment.

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The lead referee of the match was Qatari Khamis Al-Marri (in yellow). He was also the lead referee of the historic match between Vietnam and Bahrain at the 2016 Asian U19 tournament, which Vietnam won 1-0 to book an U20 World Cup berth.

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In Tuesday’s AFF Cup match, several of Al-Marri’s decisions were questionable, fans and commentators said. In the 75th minute, Nguyen Cong Phuong was tripped/fouled by goalkeeper Kyaw Zin in the box, but no penalty was granted to Vietnam.

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In the 89th minute, Doan Van Hau was pushed from behind by a Myanmar player inside the box and referee Al-Marri ignored the foul.

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During an attack by Vietnam, Nguyen Quang Hai was fouled but another Vietnamese player got the ball close to the box. But Al-Marri decided to stop the attack and book a Myanmar player, denying Vietnam the run-of-play advantage.

After the game, head coach Park Hang-seo said he was ‘unsatisfied’ with the result. "We had many chances, but luck was not with us today," Park said. He also said he was not happy with the referees’ work in this game. "I need to see the video again to know if Toan was offside or not. But in general, I can’t be satisfied with how the refs ran this game," he said.

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With the draw, both Vietnam and Myanmar are tied in Group A with seven points, but the latter is ahead on goal stats. If Vietnam beats Cambodia this Saturday, they will qualify for the semifinals, regardless of the Malaysia-Myanmar match result.

Vietnam will play Cambodia on home soil, at the Hang Day Stadium in Hanoi on November 24.

 
 
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