AFF General Secretary and FAT leaders went to VFF headquarters to resolve the incident of incorrect national flag.

AFF General Secretary Winston Lee and the working delegation of the Football Association of Thailand arrived at VFF headquarters at 2:00 p.m. on October 29 to work with VFF leaders.

Following the incident involving the mistake of the Vietnamese flag being used as the Chinese flag at the draw for the U.19 futsal tournament in Thailand on October 28, both the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF) and the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) have made goodwill gestures.

AFF General Secretary present at VFF headquarters

VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan

Previously, VFF said: " During the draw, the Chinese flag was displayed instead of the Vietnamese flag on the Vietnam team's draw.

In a document sent to the AFF, the VFF clearly stated its view that this serious incident could have consequences affecting Vietnam's image and negatively impacting the solidarity of the ASEAN community.

VFF requested AFF to clarify the cause of the above incident and ensure strict measures to prevent similar mistakes from happening again in upcoming events.

VFF believes that AFF is also fully aware of the seriousness of this incident and will handle it with the highest sense of responsibility, caution and professionalism.

FAT also apologizes to AFF

On the night of October 28, FAT issued a statement stating: "Mr. Adisak Benjasiriwan, FAT Vice President in charge of futsal and beach soccer, sent his sincere apologies to VFF and the Vietnamese people after the unfortunate incident when the Chinese national flag appeared instead of the Vietnamese national flag during the draw ceremony for the 2025 Southeast Asian U.19 youth futsal championship, which took place on October 28.

FAT recognizes and respects all member associations at all levels, as well as the importance of each country's national flag as a symbol of national identity. We therefore express our deep regret for this error. Immediately after the incident, FAT took decisive action by establishing an investigation committee to investigate the incident and take disciplinary action against those responsible.

Initial investigation results show that this error originated from the event organizers. In addition, Ms. Nualphan Lamsam, President of FAT, officially sent a letter of apology to both VFF and AFF.

The FAT delegation personally came to Vietnam on October 29, 2025 to convey FAT's apology to the President and Board of Directors of VFF.

AFF General Secretary Winston Lee also accompanied the FAT delegation. Receiving the delegation were VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan and VFF General Secretary Nguyen Van Phu.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tong-thu-ky-aff-cung-lanh-dao-fat-da-den-tru-so-vff-cung-giai-quyet-su-co-sai-quoc-ky-185251029142308008.htm