Controversy over 'ghost goal' that helped Thailand reach the final against Vietnam

The turning point of the second leg of the 2024 AFF Cup semi-final between Thailand and the Philippines was the opening goal in the first half. Television images showed that the ball may have been out of play before the Thai player scored. However, VAR was invalid in this situation and the referee did not review the footage. This caused a lot of controversy.

" Thailand's first goal was invalid, the VAR referee distorted the truth. If the goal was not counted, the Philippines would have eliminated Thailand. The influence of the Thai Football Federation cannot be underestimated ," commented Hung Le on social media.

Controversial play by Thailand team.

In the 37th minute, Seksan Ratree tried to save the ball on the right wing before crossing for Peeradol to finish into the Philippines net, opening the score for Thailand. However, this goal caused controversy as many people believed that the ball had already rolled out of the touchline before Ratree made the pass. When the screen showed VAR technology, there was no vertical rotation to determine whether the ball had actually gone out of the field or not.

Filipino fans were the most vocal critics of the referee's decision. To show their disapproval, they even "edited" the logo of the Football Association of Thailand. Fans of "The Azkals" replaced the elephant with an image of Seksan Ratree saving the ball from the sidelines.

" Perhaps the Japanese referee should have thought that this was exactly like Japan's goal against Spain. The camera angle shown on TV cannot determine whether the ball went out or not. I don't understand why VAR didn't ask the referee to review it again ," another fan sarcastically said.

The 2024 AFF Cup is a tournament that has witnessed many controversial refereeing decisions. The Vietnamese team once lost a penalty in the match against Singapore even though Tan Tai was pushed down in the penalty area. Then, Xuan Son was denied a beautiful goal even though VAR did not determine whether he handled the ball or not. On the contrary, the Vietnamese team also escaped a penalty even though Tan Tai fouled a Singaporean player in the penalty area.

In addition, many other incidents also occurred in different matches, making many fans in different countries unhappy. Therefore, the Southeast Asian Football Federation needs to rectify the refereeing work before the two final matches against Vietnam and Thailand.

Mai Phuong

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/tranh-cai-ban-thang-ma-giup-thai-lan-vao-chung-ket-gap-tuyen-viet-nam-ar917421.html