Referee who disallowed Vietnam's legit goal in SEA Games women's final runs away from social media amid backlash

Assistant referee Chanthavong Phutsavan during the SEA Games women's football final between Vietnam and the Philippines on Dec. 17, 2025. Photo by VnExpress/Duc Dong

The Laotian official made a decisive error in the match between Vietnam and the Philippines on Wednesday night. In the 29th minute, Vietnam appeared to take the lead when Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy headed home a cross from Ngan Thi Van Su. However, the celebrations were cut short when Chanthavong raised her flag for offside.

Replays showed that Thuy was clearly onside by at least two Philippine defenders, standing several meters away from the offside line.

The error proved to be a turning point. Frustrated and unable to break the deadlock in a 0-0 draw over 120 minutes, Coach Mai Duc Chung's side ultimately lost 5-6 in the penalty shootout, handing the gold medal to the Philippines.

Following the match, the online community quickly located Chanthavong’s Facebook account. Although she had privacy settings to restrict comments from strangers, users flooded her public posts with tens of thousands of angry reactions to show their frustration.

Less than 12 hours after the game, the pressure forced the referee to retreat from social media. Chanthavong reportedly changed her Facebook name and locked her profile to avoid further harassment.

The error has been a hot topic on Southeast Asian football forums.

"It was a fantastic and perfectly executed goal, clearly not offside," a Thai fan commented on the ASEAN Football forum. "Unfortunately, the Vietnam women's team suffered a disadvantage due to a referee's mistake. The SEA Games should seriously consider using VAR to prevent such serious errors."

Even Filipino fans, while celebrating their historic first gold medal, acknowledged the blunder in refereeing.

"I understand that Vietnamese fans will have strong reactions," wrote a Philippine fan. "Please don't worry, because even we Filipinos were shocked by the disallowed goal. But the Philippines team deserved this victory. We won from start to finish, and it's a memorable moment for us."

Assistant referee Chanthavong has been a FIFA official since 2019 and is the only female FIFA assistant referee from Laos.

While refereeing mistakes are a part of football, observers have noted that imagining an offside situation with such a clear margin is exceptionally rare for a FIFA-level official, particularly in a high-stakes match like the final.

According toVnExpress, AFC representatives met with Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) President Tran Quoc Tuan in Thailand on Dec. 18, acknowleding that the decision not to award a goal to Thuy was a serious mistake made at a critical moment, with direct implications for the fairness of the final.

The AFC said it would review the incident and take measures to prevent similar errors in future competitions. While no specific disciplinary action was announced, the AFC indicated that the case would be assessed based on the official report submitted by referee supervisor Yongmei Cui, in line with established procedures.