Thai newspaper comments on unbelievable mistakes before SEA Games 33

(Dan Tri) - Thai media expressed disappointment in the organization and preparation for the 33rd SEA Games, especially the incident of confusing the Thai flag with the Vietnamese flag.

"The SEA Games have not even officially opened yet, but football-related problems have already begun to appear. The problem lies not only in the organization of the event, but also in the prestige and reputation of Thailand as the host country," Siam Sport commented on the incident of confusing the Thai flag with the Vietnamese flag in the futsal competition schedule.

On December 2, just one day before the men's football competition kicked off (December 3) and one week before the opening ceremony at Rajamangala Stadium, a series of unusual mistakes by the SEA Games Organizing Committee (OC) were recorded.

The Thai flag was mistaken for the Vietnamese flag when the 33rd SEA Games organizing committee posted the futsal competition schedule (Photo: Matichon).

The first incident came from the official social media page of the 33rd SEA Games, which is supposed to provide absolutely accurate information. This page posted a graphic of the competition schedule for December 4. In horse polo, the matches between Indonesia vs. Philippines and Brunei vs. Malaysia were properly flagged.

However, what surprised Thai fans was that the host country's flag was mistakenly displayed in the futsal match schedule. Instead of the Thai flag, the organizers used the Vietnamese flag. Meanwhile, the Indonesian flag was mistakenly displayed with the Lao flag.

On December 1, the U22 Vietnam team's training session also encountered a traffic jam, causing the entire team to arrive at the field 20 minutes late, resulting in coach Kim Sang Sik and his team not having enough time to complete their training plan. The team only performed light exercise and relaxation for about 40 minutes before ending the training session.

"Although we are ready to cheer with all our hearts, we must honestly admit that hosting the largest sporting event in Southeast Asia still has shortcomings that need to be quickly overcome.

Problems have been mushrooming, from delays in the release of sports programs, to relocation of venues, causing headaches for both media and athletes, even basic issues like media ID cards have not been received yet!

U22 Vietnam had an accident during the first training session in Thailand (Photo: VFF).

But the unfortunate thing that made the host team's image less "luxurious" was the criticism from the neighboring country, the Vietnam team. Their training trip had to face "horrific" traffic jams in Bangkok, "traffic jams like hell", so much so that they could only practice for 40 minutes," Siam Sport newspaper said about the incidents before the 33rd SEA Games started.

"Everything has turned into a dark joke before the 33rd SEA Games, which Thailand will host from December 9 to 20," Thai newspaper Matichon also commented on the unacceptable mistakes of the 33rd SEA Games Organizing Committee.

This newspaper cited two serious mistakes in the organization of the SEA Games of the host country. In addition to confusing the Thai flag with that of Vietnam and the Indonesian flag with that of Laos, the Organizing Committee also caused confusion when it requested that domestic and foreign press agencies not be allowed to use the "33rd SEA Games logo" in news reports, because this action violates copyright.

“Everyone is panicking. All the mainstream media, not to mention the websites covering the SEA Games, are worried about what is happening.

The first question is: Whose copyright is being infringed? The next question is, if the coverage helps promote and create excitement for the SEA Games in Thailand, it cannot be used for commercial purposes. So why can't it be used?", Matichon commented.

Immediately afterwards, the Sports Authority of Thailand apologized and affirmed that press agencies are allowed to use the SEA Games 33 logo in news reports.

Not stopping there, when the men's football event of the 33rd SEA Games will officially start this afternoon (December 3), many reporters have not yet been granted press cards by the host country.

Except for TV reporters who already have cards, print reporters who went to Thailand to cover the U22 Vietnam team's training sessions from December 1st and the press conference before the match on December 2nd have not yet been able to receive cards to facilitate their travel and work.

"The first match will take place on the afternoon of December 3. Reporters from press agencies will only receive their passes on the morning of December 3. Preparing for a big event by sprinkling coriander on top like this?

At this point, we can only pray that the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand will not have any more "disasters" like this," the Thai newspaper concluded.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/bao-thai-lan-binh-luan-ve-nhung-sai-sot-kho-tin-truoc-sea-games-33-20251203143548037.htm