Representative of the Thai Football Federation explains the incident of displaying the wrong Vietnamese national flag

On the afternoon of October 29, at the headquarters of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), the working delegation of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) led by Vice President Adisak Benjasiriwan had a working session and explained to the leaders of the Vietnam Football Federation about the incident of incorrectly displaying the Vietnamese national flag at the draw ceremony for the 2025 Southeast Asian U16 and U19 Futsal Championship, organized by the Football Association of Thailand on the afternoon of October 28 in Bangkok. The meeting was witnessed by the General Secretary of the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF), Mr. Winston Lee.

Vice President of the Football Association of Thailand Adisak Benjasiriwan (left) and President of the Vietnam Football Federation Tran Quoc Tuan. Photo: VFF

At the beginning of the meeting, Vice President Adisak Benjasiriwan read the official apology letter from the President of the Football Association of Thailand to the Vietnam Football Federation. In the letter, the President of the Football Association of Thailand sent his most sincere apologies for the unfortunate incident related to the misplacement of the Vietnamese national flag during the draw ceremony for the 2025 Southeast Asian U19 Men's Futsal Championship.

The President of the Football Association of Thailand affirmed: “We are fully aware of the seriousness of this mistake and take responsibility for the incident that occurred. The Football Association of Thailand has immediately taken corrective measures, reviewed and tightened the event organization process, to ensure that similar mistakes will not recur.”

The letter stressed: “The Football Association of Thailand would like to sincerely apologize to the Vietnam Football Federation, the ASEAN Football Federation and all relevant parties for this incident. We appreciate your continued sympathy and support, and affirm our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of professionalism and respect in all AFF events hosted by Thailand.”

On the evening of October 28, the official fanpage of the Football Federation of Thailand also posted a press release apologizing to the Vietnam Football Federation and Vietnamese fans. The release stated: “The Football Federation of Thailand hopes that the Vietnam Football Federation and the Vietnamese people will accept our apology and sympathize with this unintentional error – a human error, completely without the intention of disrespecting the country of Vietnam. This is an important lesson for us to be more careful and serious in all organizational processes, in order to maintain the highest standards that the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF) expects from us as the host country.”

The Vietnam Football Federation acknowledged the sincere apology of the Football Federation of Thailand and highly appreciated the proactive, open-minded and respectful spirit of the Football Federation of Thailand. The Vietnam Football Federation considered this a serious mistake and affirmed that this was a profound lesson in the preparation and organization of international events, aiming to improve the professionalism of the competition system of the Southeast Asian Football Federation.

Representatives of the Football Federation of Thailand pledged not to let similar mistakes happen in the future, and expressed their desire to continue to maintain a cooperative relationship and closely coordinate with the Vietnam Football Federation in activities to develop football in the Southeast Asian region to become increasingly professional and sustainable.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/xa-hoi/dai-dien-lien-doan-bong-da-thai-lan-giai-trinh-ve-su-co-hien-thi-sai-quoc-ky-viet-nam-20251029195949473.htm