International media highlighted the biggest injustices faced by the Vietnam national team in 2025.

International outlets recognized Vietnamese football as suffering from the gravest errors in 2025, involving controversies that directly impacted the national team’s results.

According to year-end summaries from international media agencies, the Vietnam national team was unexpectedly named among the “typical victims” of the most serious mistakes and scandals in world football in 2025, involving two contentious incidents lasting several months.

In analyses discussing the “dark side” of football last year, many newspapers from Europe to Southeast Asia agreed that Vietnamese football endured clear injustices that directly affected the achievements and rights of the national teams.

The first focal point mentioned by international media was refereeing matters during the women’s football final at SEA Games 33. Specifically, the major German broadcaster NTV dedicated a detailed analysis dissecting the puzzling disallowance of a legitimate goal by Bích Thùy. The channel commented: “The Vietnamese player was clearly ahead of the opposing defense line, yet the referee called offside, resulting in a decision considered ‘unacceptable.’”

This assessment quickly gained agreement from many reputable regional news sites, including leading Southeast Asian newspapers. They argued this was not a mere error, but one of the most controversial decisions in SEA Games history, ranking among the worst mistakes in football in 2025.

Besides the SEA Games incident, international media also pointed out a second injustice faced by Vietnamese football, related to Malaysia’s use of ineligible naturalized players in international matches. Notably, Malaysia’s own New Straits Times admitted this was a “historic stain,” severely damaging the country’s football image, while Vietnam was the team directly affected by the match outcomes.

Many regional newspapers classified this case as one of the biggest scandals in Southeast Asia in 2025. Moreover, DW and journalist John Duerden emphasized it as a wake-up call for world football, potentially forcing FIFA to tighten regulations concerning player nationality and naturalization in the future.

Apart from the two Vietnam-related events, the international year-end review also mentioned various other upheavals, such as match-fixing allegations in Turkey and controversies around Samuel Eto’o’s management role in Cameroon. Nonetheless, Vietnam’s national team being named as a “direct victim” of serious mistakes still left many fans feeling disheartened.

To better understand the context and the role of football in the Southeast Asian Games, readers can refer to in-depth articles about the history and significance of the SEA Games in the development of regional football.