VietNamNet Bridge – Four Vietnamese referees, Phung Dinh Dung, Vo Minh Tri, Nguyen Ngoc Ha and Duong Van Hien, were selected for the on-going AFF Suzuki Cup 2008.

Referee Vo Minh Tri.

Tri oversaw the semi-final match between host Indonesia and Thailand in Indonesia, which attracted 70,000 spectators. A goal scored by the host team was not recognised by Tri in the final minutes because according to the Vietnamese referee, the scorer was offside.

Tri said nothing happened because the Indonesian fans and players were professional. “It is memorable to referee a regional semi-final match, in front of 70,000 people. It profoundly inspired me. After that match, I felt more confident. Frankly, it is easy to work international events, because they are very professional,” Tri said.

“In Vietnam, footballers, coaching boards and team managers always protest against referees. It incites disorder in the stands, creating difficulties for referees,” he said.

According to Tri, Vietnamese referees are appreciated abroad.

Referee Phung Dinh Dung controlled the Myanmar-Singapore match, which had a ten-minute pause. “It is the same everywhere. Players and coaching boards protest the referee’s decisions because they don’t understand the rules. But referees were respected by the organising board and local officials. That’s different from Vietnam,” Dung said.

Actually, Vietnamese referees could go further in the world. At the 21^st SEA Games, Vietnamese referee Luong The Tai was chosen for the final match. Referee Truong The Toan was invited to the 2004 Athens Olympics. But when will Vietnamese referees work the World Cup?

Shamsul Maidin (Singapore), a FIFA lecturer who works for an advanced referee training course in the central city of Da Nang, said Vietnamese referees are capable and they have conditions to improve their skills. But he said professionalism is a challenge for Vietnamese referees.

Maidin, 43, was the only Southeast Asian referee to work the FIFA World Cup 2006. Shamsul Maidin was accredited as a FIFA referee in 1998 and he needed only 8 years to work his way up to World Cup consideration.

Vietnamese referees have worked for so long in an unprofessional environment and in that environment, many talented referees have lost their ability.

Vietnam has aimed to have referees working in the World Cup, but this is still a dream. Chairman of the National Referee Council, Nguyen Van Mui, said that day is still very far away because the influence of Vietnamese football on FIFA and the Asian Football Federation (AFC) is modest, the complicated environment of local football hinders referees, and the poor English of Vietnamese referees.

(Source: TT&VH)