The Football Association of Thailand’s vice president for futsal and beach soccer Adisak Benjasiriwan (L) shakes hands with Vietnam Football Federation president Tran Quoc Tuan (C) while apologizing during a meeting in Hanoi, October 29, 2025. Photo: Football Association of Thailand
In a statement posted on its Facebook page, FAT said the incident was unintentional and attributed to an individual error.
The association said it had “sent letters of apology to the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF)” and pledged that “similar incidents will not occur in the future in any official tournament we host.”
The draw error occurred during the ASEAN U19 Boys’ Futsal Championship ceremony in Thailand when Vietnam’s name appeared correctly but the Chinese flag was displayed on both sides of the team listing.
The mistake drew immediate complaints from VFF, which requested clarification from FAT and AFF, and sparked outrage among Vietnamese fans.
To demonstrate its sincerity, FAT sent its vice-president for futsal and beach soccer, Adisak Benjasiriwan, to Hanoi to apologize in person.
He met with VFF president Tran Quoc Tuan, general secretary Nguyen Van Phu, deputy general secretary Nguyen Thanh Ha, and head of international relations Huong Hieu, with AFF general secretary Winston Lee as a witness.
According to FAT, the meeting was “cordial” and VFF officials expressed understanding of the unintentional nature of the mistake.
The Thai association reiterated its commitment that such errors would not happen in future tournaments hosted by Thailand.
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