The referee's mistake robbed the Vietnamese women's football team of the SEA Games 2025 gold medal.

The women's football finalSEA Games 2025concluded with a deeply disappointing outcome for the Vietnamese women: a 0-0 tie after 120 minutes and a 5-6 defeat in the penalty shootout. And the person most talked about is... the referee.

The unjust flag raise was a stain on SEA Games 2025.

Clearly, what angered the public and hurt the Vietnamese team more than the lottery of penalties was the pivotal wrong call by the referee – the wrongful offside whistle that denied Vietnam a legitimate goal. It is unbelievable that such a baffling error could happen in a final deciding the gold medal.

In the 29th minute, Bích Thùy broke through and crossed for her teammate who finished into the net against the Philippines. It was a smooth, exemplary combination fully deserving recognition. However, the assistant referee immediately raised the flag, and the main referee did not consult anyone. The slow-motion footage after the match showed Bích Thùy was several meters behind the last defender of the Philippines, with no offside at all. This was a blatant misjudgment, unjustifiable, directly taking away Vietnam's opening goal – a goal that could have changed the entire final.