On October 29, Adisak Benjasiriwan, Vice President of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), led a delegation to Hanoi. Their mission, on behalf of Madam Pang, the President of FAT, was to issue an official apology to the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) following an incident where the Chinese flag was mistakenly displayed instead of the Vietnamese flag during an official event.
The controversy originated from a group draw event for the ASEAN Under-19 Boys’ Futsal, hosted by FAT in Bangkok on October 28. During the live broadcast, the Thai organizers mistakenly presented the Chinese flag in place of Vietnam’s national flag, an error that quickly drew widespread surprise and criticism from viewers and reporters online. Within approximately 10 minutes, the FAT organizers removed the video from their social media platforms.
This incident prompted strong dissatisfaction from Vietnam, leading the VFF to send an urgent letter to both the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and FAT. The VFF’s communication explicitly objected to the error, seeking clarification regarding the incorrect flag display and emphasizing that this serious mistake could negatively impact Vietnam’s image and potentially undermine unity within the ASEAN community.
Following Vietnam’s formal objection, Nualphan Lamsam, widely known as Madam Pang, the President of FAT, promptly issued an official apology to the Vietnam Football Federation. She acknowledged the mistakes made by her team during the incident and pledged to implement measures to prevent such errors from recurring. Demonstrating a commitment beyond a written apology, Madam Pang, a prominent Thai figure, subsequently dispatched a high-level delegation of FAT officials to Hanoi. This delegation, which included Adisak Benjasiriwan, the Vice President of FAT responsible for indoor football and beach football, aimed to offer a direct apology to VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan. Winston Lee, the Secretary General of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), was also present as a witness to this significant meeting.
During the meeting, Adisak Benjasiriwan conveyed his regret, stating, “We sincerely hope that the VFF and the Vietnamese people will accept the apology and forgive this unintentional mistake. This is the fault of the FAT team, but there is no intention to insult Vietnam at all.” This statement, as reported by vnexpress on the night of October 29, marked a pivotal moment. VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan formally accepted the apology from the Thai side, acknowledging that the error of displaying the Chinese flag instead of Vietnam’s was indeed unintentional. The FAT further reiterated its commitment, promising that such incidents would not occur again in the future.
