Serious mistake of SEA Games Organizing Committee: Mistaking Thai flag for Vietnamese flag

(Dan Tri) - Matichon newspaper (Thailand) emphasized that the organizing committee of the 33rd SEA Games made a serious mistake when it confused the Thai national flag with the Vietnamese national flag.

“Serious mistake of the 33rd SEA Games organizing committee,” Matichon newspaper headlined regarding the incident in the host country. The Thai newspaper continued to comment: “A ridiculous situation happened before the opening day of the SEA Games, causing a stir in the sports and media world of Thailand as well as Southeast Asia.

The Thai flag was mistaken for the Vietnamese flag when the 33rd SEA Games organizing committee posted the futsal competition schedule (Photo: Matichon).

On December 2, just one day before the men's football event kicked off (December 3) and a week before the opening ceremony at Rajamangala Stadium, a series of unusual errors were recorded.

The first incident came from the official social media page of the 33rd SEA Games, which is supposed to provide absolutely accurate information. This page posted a graphic of the competition schedule for December 4, 2025. In horse polo, the matches between Indonesia vs. Philippines and Brunei vs. Malaysia were properly flagged.

However, what surprised Thai fans was that the host country's flag was mistakenly displayed in the futsal match schedule. Instead of the Thai flag, the organizers used the Vietnamese flag. Meanwhile, the Indonesian flag was mistakenly displayed with the Lao flag.

This incomprehensible mistake immediately sparked a wave of criticism, especially when the responsible unit was said to have received a bid with a huge budget, but right before the 33rd SEA Games began, it revealed its unnecessary negligence.

Matichon newspaper said about the next incident of the SEA Games organizing committee: “The second incident on the same day made the Thai media even more indignant. Many reporters from press agencies received notices from the “SEA Games Rights Protection Office” requesting them to absolutely not use the official logo of the 33rd SEA Games when reporting, citing “copyright infringement” and even threatening to handle it according to the law.

SEA Games 33 encountered an unfortunate incident right before the opening day (Photo: SEA Games).

This immediately raised a series of questions: Whose copyright does the SEA Games logo “infringe”? The press published the logo not for commercial purposes but to promote and create excitement for the host country Thailand’s sports festival, so why was it banned?

As soon as the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the General Department of Sports and Physical Training (SAT) received the information, the relevant units quickly made adjustments. SAT then informed the press that the logo could be used normally.

Thai media could not hide their disappointment, asking bluntly: “What is SAT doing? Does it really want the 33rd SEA Games to take place in full?”

The Thai newspaper continued to comment on the errors: “Critics emphasized that these were unnecessary mistakes, showing a lack of coordination and professionalism. The last-minute preparation in such a “head-first, tail-first” manner has made many people worried. Now, we can only pray that the 33rd SEA Games will not have any more “disastrous” incidents.”

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/sai-sot-nghiem-trong-cua-btc-sea-games-nham-co-thai-lan-thanh-viet-nam-20251202231716553.htm