Thailand mistakenly displays Chinese flag for Vietnam at Southeast Asian tournament draw

The error occurred during the 10-minute draw organized by the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), which has subsequently removed the video from its social media platforms.

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) sent an urgent letter to both the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) to express its objection to the mistake. "VFF protests and requests clarification regarding the incorrect display of the Vietnamese national flag during the draw ceremony," stated the VFF. "This serious error could have consequences, damaging Vietnam's image and negatively impacting unity within the ASEAN community."

VFF requested AFF to investigate the cause and implement strict measures to prevent such incidents from occurring in future events. "VFF believes that AFF is fully aware of the gravity of this issue and will address it with the utmost responsibility, caution, and professionalism," the statement added.

A screenshot shows a ticket for Vietnam with Chinese national flag displayed at the draw of the 2025 Southeast Asian U19 Futsal Tournament in Thailand, Oct. 28, 2025.

Both the AFF and FAT later apologized to Vietnam and VFF for the incident.

The ASEAN U19 Boys' Futsal Championship 2025 will be held from Dec. 23 to 29 in Nonthaburi, Thailand. Vietnam have been placed in Group A alongside Brunei and hosts Thailand. Group B consists of Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, and Cambodia. The teams will compete in a round-robin format, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals.

Two groups at the ASEAN U19 Boys' Futsal Championship 2025.

Flag mix-ups at sporting events are not uncommon in Southeast Asia. A similar incident occurred during the opening ceremony of the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia in 2023. During a performance by a host singer at the Morodok Techo National Stadium in Phnom Penh, dancers accidentally held the Indonesian flag upside down, making it resemble the Polish flag. The two flags are similar, differing only in the color order. Indonesia's flag is red on top and white on the bottom, while Poland's is the opposite.

At the 2017 SEA Games in Malaysia, the organizing committee made a similar mistake by printing the Indonesian flag upside down in the guest book, causing outrage among Indonesian officials and citizens. The then Malaysian Minister of Youth and Sports, Khairy Jamaluddin, had to issue an apology.

In 2024, the Paris Olympics also saw errors involving national flags and anthems. The wrong anthem was played for South Sudan during a basketball event, and Argentina's flag was wrongly displayed during a swimming event.