A very strange scene at Rajamangala Stadium on the day U.23 Thailand played in SEA Games 33

The 33rd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) opened with the men's football event. However, the first day of competition at Rajamangala Stadium was not as perfect as expected, from the atmosphere in the stands to the technical factors...

Where are the U.23 Thailand audience? Why do I only see security and volunteers?

On the evening of December 3, the U.23 Thailand team defeated U.23 Timor Leste with a score of 6-1 in the opening match of the 33rd SEA Games. This resounding first victory is also the beginning of the ambition to conquer the gold medal of the Golden Temple team, after 3 consecutive empty-handed games. But perhaps, the U.23 Thailand players could not fully enjoy the joy, when the stands were surprisingly sparse.

An hour and a half before the match between U.23 Thailand and U.23 Timor Leste, the entrance to Rajamangala Stadium only had security forces and volunteers.

PHOTO: NT

According to Thanh Nien reporters, about 1.5 hours before the match between U.23 Thailand and U.23 Timor Leste, the area in front of Rajamangala National Stadium was still very deserted. For a country with a football tradition in the region like Thailand, on the day the "war elephants" took to the field at the congress held at home and taking place at the stadium right in the capital Bangkok, tens of thousands of fans should have created a passionate atmosphere!

However, when looking around the stadium, many stands were empty. The steady, powerful sounds made the opponents wary, and the large fan flag was also absent... because the large force from the Ultras Thailand association was absent. Ultras Thailand did exactly what they said before, when they announced that they would not come to Rajamangala Stadium to watch football, if the organizers did not change the way they received tickets. The SEA Games organizers also affirmed their stance that fans would not have to register their personal information and phone number to receive a QR code to receive tickets. This made many fans angry, as they believed that this violated the basic freedom of sports spectators. In addition, Ultras Thailand proposed to remove the arrangement of the away team's fans sitting in the stands right behind the goal, but was not accepted by the organizers.

The ticket counter was sparsely populated.

PHOTO: NT

The area with booths selling match-supporting items was also less crowded.

PHOTO: NT

A rare group of noisy fans could not overcome the strange emptiness in front of Rajamangala Stadium, when U.23 Thailand was about to play the opening match of SEA Games 33.

PHOTO: NT

Many empty stands in Rajamangala Stadium, when host U.23 Thailand played

PHOTO: NHAT THINH

The fans sat sparsely..

PHOTO: NHAT THINH

Not only that, in the match between U.23 Thailand and U.23 Timor Leste, a series of light bulbs in the lighting system at Rajamangala Stadium broke down. The stadium management had to urgently borrow lights from Nakhon Ratchasima Stadium to replace them.

In the match between U.23 Vietnam and U.23 Laos that took place in the afternoon of the same day, an incident also occurred. The national anthem was not played, forcing the players of both teams to sing a cappella. In that case, the U.23 players and Vietnamese fans in the stands tried to sing the Vietnamese national anthem loudly.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/canh-tuong-qua-doi-la-lung-tren-san-rajamangala-ngay-u23-thai-lan-xuat-tran-sea-games-33-185251203210257775.htm