Precious souvenirs in referee Tran Dinh Thinh's refereeing career - Photo: QT
Referee Tran Dinh Thinh passed away in the early morning of August 4 after fainting during a referee fitness test before the 2025-2026 season which took place the day before at the Hanoi Athletics Palace.
Mr. Thinh returned to his parents.
After about 24 hours in an ambulance, traveling 1,600 km on the road, the body of referee Tran Dinh Thinh was brought back to his parents' house in Dinh Quan. Upon receiving the news of her son's death, his mother was so heartbroken that she had no more tears left. She sat in a daze in the house next door and was comforted by relatives.
Ms. Thuy, Mr. Thinh's wife, stood by her husband's side as she sat in the ambulance throughout the journey from Hanoi to Dong Nai . She sobbed before the memorial service for him. Referee Thinh lay on the familiar bed as he always did when he returned from Bien Hoa to visit his family in Dinh Quan.
Thinh's nephew, an assistant referee in the national first division, quickly rearranged his beloved uncle's "technical area". It was a table with V-League referee cards, Vietnam Football Federation certificates of merit and whistles.
Among those souvenirs, the thing that referee Tran Dinh Thinh feels most proud of is the 3 FIFA Referee 2019 badges. That was the year the referee born in 1982 was honored to be upgraded to international referee and take to the field to perform his duties with the most noble badge of the profession.
Putting aside the sadness of losing his younger brother, Mr. Tran Dinh Du rolled up his sleeves to prepare for his brother's funeral. Mr. Du said that Thinh's passing was a great loss. Thinh's father had to temporarily hide during his painful moments. At this time, the whole family was just waiting for his niece, Thinh's daughter, to return from Australia to see her father for the last time.
Mr. Tran Dinh Du reviews the list of Funeral Committee - Photo: QT
Unfinished plan
Referee Tran Dinh Thinh's legacy is the matches, their memories are the minutes running on the football field. Behind that are so many efforts and in one attempt to complete the speed run, referee Tran Dinh Thinh had to put aside many unfinished dreams.
That was the first time referee Tran Dinh Thinh was assigned to officiate the 2025-2026 National Super Cup match between Cong An Ha Noi Club and Thep Xanh Nam Dinh on August 9. Last season, the referee from Dong Nai excellently won the "Silver Whistle 2024-2025" title. However, he passed away right before the opening match of the new season of Vietnamese football took place. The pain was too great for his family, relatives and it was a great loss for Vietnamese football.
Not only focusing on V-League, the 43-year-old referee is also a physical education teacher at Le Quang Dinh Secondary School, Dong Nai. In addition to working hours, the former FIFA referee is also passionate about sports business, organizing grassroots football tournaments between parishes in Bien Hoa city.
Together with his friends, referee Tran Dinh Thinh opened a 7-a-side artificial turf court on Dong Khoi Street a few years ago. While the pickleball movement was developing strongly, he also quickly opened a cluster of 4 courts in Tan Hiep named Hung Thinh.
Planning further after "hanging up the whistle", referee Thinh also planned to go to school to become a supervisor and pursue school football training to continue his passion. "Live by the profession, die by the profession", he passed away when many cherished plans were still unfinished, leaving behind unfulfilled ambitions.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/linh-cuu-trong-tai-tran-dinh-thinh-ve-toi-que-nha-bao-ap-u-danh-gac-lai-20250805085839638.htm
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