Thailand apologizes for the incident during the national anthem ceremony between U22 Vietnam and U22 Laos

TPO - On December 3, the organizing committee of the 33rd SEA Games (Thailand) sent an open letter to the Vietnam Olympic Committee apologizing for the incident related to the national anthem singing ceremony at the match between the U22 Vietnam team and the U22 Laos team.

Thailand's preparations for the 33rd SEA Games are currently facing some problems.

The letter, signed by the Director General of the Sports Authority of Thailand and Secretary General of the 33rd SEA Games Organizing Committee – Dr. Gongsak Yodmani, stated: The Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) and the Football Association of Thailand (FA Thailand), as the Games Organizing Committee (THASOC), would like to extend their deepest apologies to all parties involved for the technical incident that occurred before the match between Laos PDR and Vietnam on December 3, 2025 at Rajamangala National Stadium. The incident prevented the national anthems of the two teams from being played as planned.

U22 Vietnam beat U22 Laos 2-1 in the opening match of SEA Games 33 (photo by Huu Pham)

“We are committed to ensuring that such an incident does not recur. Once again, we ask for your understanding and our sincere apologies,” Dr. Gongsak Yodmani affirmed.

Previously, during the national anthem ceremony before the match between U22 Vietnam and U22 Laos on the afternoon of December 3, the stadium's sound system suddenly stopped working. Unable to handle the situation in time, the organizers were forced to let the players and coaches of both teams sing the national anthem without accompaniment.

In the opening match of the men's football SEA Games 33 this afternoon, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team defeated U22 Laos 2-1. Both goals were scored by striker Dinh Bac.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/thai-lan-xin-loi-ve-su-co-trong-nghi-thuc-quoc-ca-tran-u22-viet-nam-thang-u22-lao-post1801650.tpo