Thai representative visits Vietnam to apologize for wrong national flag incident

(Dan Tri) - The Football Association of Thailand (FAT) has posted an apology for the mistake of the Vietnamese national flag during the draw for the 2025 Southeast Asian Futsal Championship. FAT will also send a delegation directly to Vietnam to apologize.

A press release from the Football Association of Thailand (FA) said: "The Football Association of Thailand (FA Thailand) would like to sincerely apologize to the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and all the Vietnamese people after the unfortunate incident that occurred during the draw ceremony for the 2025 AFF U19 Futsal Championship, which took place on October 28, when the national flag of the People's Republic of China was mistakenly hung instead of the national flag of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The tournament is scheduled to be held at the Nonthaburi Provincial Stadium, Thailand in December 2025.

The Thai FA always acknowledges and deeply respects all member associations at all levels, especially the National Flag of each country as a sacred symbol of sovereignty and national identity. Therefore, we deeply regret the above error.

Immediately after the incident, the Thai FA promptly established an investigation committee to clarify responsibilities and take appropriate disciplinary measures against the individuals involved. Initial investigation results determined that the error arose from the event organization stage."

After the incident, FAT President, Ms. Nualphan Lamsam, also sent a letter of apology to VFF and affirmed that she would send a delegation to Vietnam to apologize directly. FAT said: "In addition, Ms. Nualphan Lamsam officially sent a letter of apology to VFF and the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF). At the same time, she assigned Mr. Adisak Benjasiriwan, Vice President in charge of Futsal and Beach Soccer, and the relevant delegation to Vietnam on October 29 to directly convey the apology to the President and Board of Directors of VFF.

The Thai FA sincerely hopes that the VFF and the Vietnamese people will sympathize and accept our apology for this unfortunate mistake - a mistake that did not come from any intention to offend. We consider this a great lesson to further enhance our carefulness in all organizational work, ensuring compliance with the highest standards when performing the role of host of AFF events."

It is known that at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon (October 29), the Thai delegation led by Mr. Benjasiriwan will be present at the VFF headquarters to make a direct apology.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/dai-dien-thai-lan-sang-viet-nam-xin-loi-vu-sai-quoc-ky-20251029085556471.htm