Thai volleyball team ridiculed for 'diving' referees

Arguing with the referee, constantly complaining, applying pressure... are situations often used by the Thai women's volleyball team at the 2025 Women's Volleyball World Championship.

The whole Thai team surrounded the referee - Photo: SCREENSHOT

Controversial situation

The above situation continued to appear frequently in the match between host Thailand and the Netherlands, which took place on the evening of August 26, in the final match of Group A.

The climax was in game 5, when Thailand was leading 12-11. The Thai striker had a smash that sent the ball out of the court.

Referee Lot Dominga awarded the score to the Netherlands, despite fierce protests from the Thai team. Coach Kiattipong and his team filed a complaint, requesting a review of the situation.

Slow motion of controversial situation - Photo: SCREENSHOT

After the screen showed this situation again, the Thai girls suddenly celebrated enthusiastically. But then the referee... still counted the score for the Netherlands. Immediately, the entire Thai team surrounded the Italian referee and argued for a long time. This was really a situation that was difficult to observe with the naked eye.

The Thai girls and fans can also sympathize with the psychology of this situation. If they had scored, Thailand would have taken a 13-11 lead, only 2 points away from a historic victory over the Netherlands - a team in the world's top 10.

But because of the penalty loss, Thailand was tied 12-12 by the Netherlands, thereby losing the match regretfully in the end. Overall, Thailand had nothing to be sad about because they had also won a ticket to the next round, and Mr. Kiattipong and his team also appeared happy and comfortable.

But for neutral fans, the Thai girls' constant arguing and pressuring the referee was really frustrating. The games were repeatedly stopped and torn apart because of such situations.

Thailand pays the price

Apart from this incident, Thailand had countless arguments with the referee in this match. But most of them were... ruled to have lost. Referee Dominga must be commended for her calmness under the pressure from the home crowd.

In addition to the above situation, there was another controversial moment when star Sasipapron saved the ball, helping Thailand win a point after a series of excellent defensive situations by the home team.

Another controversial situation - Photo: SCREENSHOT

However, the Dutch protested. And slow-motion replays showed that the ball had indeed hit the floor when Sasipapron saved it. The referee awarded the point to the Dutch, to the anger of the Thai team.

This move is reminiscent of the match against Vietnam in the first leg of SEA V.League 2025 held in Thailand. The home team also had a similar move. But then the referee awarded the point to Thailand when the entire team was surrounded and arguing fiercely.

This is a situation that makes Vietnamese volleyball fans extremely angry, thinking that their team is being unfairly treated when having to play on the opponent's field.

Therefore, when Thailand encountered "tough referee" Dominga last night, many volleyball fans in the region were happy because the home team no longer had the advantage due to the usual "fake" refereeing.

"Finally, there is a referee who stands firm against the pressure from Thailand," a fan named Delaney commented on Youtube.

"The Thai girls are really annoying, they play very well but please don't tear the match apart like that," said another fan.

Of course, we must admit that Thailand's class and extremely beautiful playing style are always worthy of being one of the top women's volleyball teams in the continent, approaching world class. But their performances would be even more beautiful if they did not have the habit of "nagging" the referee.

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HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tuyen-bong-chuyen-thai-lan-bi-che-nhao-vi-thoi-an-va-trong-tai-20250827100201183.htm