During a press conference on the afternoon of January 26th, Mr. Duong Nghiep Khoi, General Secretary of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), stated that he would request the VFF Referee Committee to assist the Vietnamese national team in equipping the players with the necessary skills to interact with VAR on the field.
" During the upcoming training camp, the VFF and Mr. Troussier will cooperate and be determined to perform well in the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, against the two most important opponents, Indonesia and Iraq, " Mr. Duong Nghiep Khoi shared.
" To do that, Mr. Troussier needed the support of the refereeing committee. He laughed and asked me why we needed their support, so I explained that our players currently don't understand how to use VAR in a match. Players need to know how to behave properly on the field to avoid mistakes like the one that led to our unfortunate red cards ."
Van Khang committed a foul against an Iraqi player.
At the 2023 Asian Cup, the Vietnamese national team suffered many disadvantages regarding the players' reactions to events on the field. First, there were instances of elementary fouls leading to red cards. In particular, the indirect red card given to Khuất Văn Khang in the match against Iraq was regrettable for fans. The Viettel player jumped to contest the ball but raised his knee too high, and the referee immediately blew the whistle for a foul.
Previously, public opinion also criticized Nguyen Thanh Binh's foul that led to the penalty in the match against Indonesia.
Furthermore, Mr. Duong Nghiep Khoi cited the offside situation involving Khuat Van Khang in the match against Iraq as an example. The Vietnamese team would have scored an early opening goal if the referee hadn't called offside against the Vietnamese player before the Iraqi defender scored an own goal.
" With many years of experience as a match supervisor, I found it difficult to call offside in that situation. Even the main referee didn't notice it. However, VAR ruled it offside. If Khang had stood still, it's highly likely the referee wouldn't have called it offside, but our player was afraid of being offside so he ran forward. VAR determined that Khang obstructed the opposing player's view, affecting their vision, thus causing a foul, " said Mr. Duong Nghiep Khoi.
" VAR has semi-automatic offside detection technology, which provides an offside line, and Khang's heel was behind Iraq's defense. Vietnamese players are only now aware of this and can adjust their playing style accordingly. As for the clear fouls that didn't require VAR, we must learn from them ."
Mr. Duong Nghiep Khoi emphasized that the Vietnam Football Federation will support and stand by Coach Troussier despite the team's recent poor results. He hoped that the public and media would be patient and allow the French coach to continue his work.
Van Hai
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