Thai sports boss: The national anthem incident in the U.23 Vietnam match made the SEA Games Organizing Committee "blush"

The sound problem that prevented the national anthems of Vietnam and Laos from playing during the opening men's football match forced Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) Governor Gongsak Yodmani to speak up and pledge to fix the problem and apologize to the two teams.

Technical error, not related to copyright

Viewers at Rajamangala Stadium and on television were surprised when the national anthems of Vietnam and Laos were not played during the pre-match ceremony between U.23 Laos and U.23 Vietnam, which opened Group B of the men's football event at the 33rd SEA Games on December 3.

The National Anthem singing part without music by U.23 Vietnam

PHOTO: TIEU BAO

This incident continues many noises related to the organization of the 33rd SEA Games even though the opening ceremony has not officially started yet. During the pre-match procedures, the players of both teams stood waiting for the National Anthem ceremony but the stadium was completely silent, no music was playing. The players and the audience had to sing the National Anthem without music.

ThaiPBS reported on December 5 that the Governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT), Dr. Gongsak Yodmani, said he was aware of the incident and confirmed that it was a technical error:

“I am aware of the incident and will check directly at the stadium. The national anthem being muted has nothing to do with the song copyright. It is just a sound system error.”

SAT Governor Gongsak Yodmani said he would send a letter of apology to Vietnam and Laos for the incident in the opening match of the men's football event of the 33rd SEA Games.

PHOTO: SEA GAMES Organizing Committee

He said the stadium sound system was tested two days before the match and was working properly.

“We don’t know why the incident happened but we will fix it immediately. There will be no similar situation in the next matches,” he said.

SEA Games 33 Organizing Committee will send a letter of apology to Vietnam and Laos

Dr. Gongsak confirmed that SAT sent an official letter of apology to both the Vietnamese and Lao delegations for this unfortunate incident. He emphasized that thoroughly fixing the technical errors is the priority of the Organizing Committee to ensure the image and organizational standards of the 33rd SEA Games.

In addition to sound issues, this year's SEA Games is also under pressure from many problems related to facilities and operations, causing special concern among regional public opinion ahead of the opening ceremony.

However, the Thai side affirmed that preparations will be tightened and similar incidents will not affect the organization of the congress.

Previously, on December 3, 2025, the Thai Sports Organizing Committee (THASOC), including SAT and the Football Association of Thailand, sent an official document to the Vietnam Olympic Committee (VOC) acknowledging a serious technical error that prevented the National Anthem ceremony before the match between Laos U23 and Vietnam U23 within the framework of the 33rd SEA Games from taking place as planned. In the letter, SAT Governor Dr. Gongsak Yodmani, on behalf of THASOC, expressed his "deepest apologies" and pledged not to let a similar incident happen again.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/sep-lon-the-thao-thai-lan-su-co-nhac-quoc-ca-tran-u23-viet-nam-khien-btc-sea-games-do-mat-185251205160928334.htm