Recently, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced the refereeing team for the match between Vietnam and Malaysia at Thien Truong Stadium on March 31.
Accordingly, the main referee is Mr. Chae Sang-hyeop (Korea), two assistants include Mr. Yoon Jae-yeol and Bang Gi-yeol (Korea), and the fourth referee is Mr. Torphong Somsing (Thailand).
Mr. Chae Sang-hyeop was born in 1989, is a referee of the Korean Football Federation and has experience working in Vietnam in many different tournaments.
Previously, he participated in officiating matches in the V.League as a VAR referee, including the confrontation between Hanoi Police Club and Hanoi FC in the 2024-2025 season.
In addition, this referee also directly officiated at Hang Day Stadium in the match between Hanoi Police and Tampines Rovers at the C1 Southeast Asian Cup.
In the 2025-2026 season, referee Chae Sang-hyeop has officiated a total of 7 matches at various levels, including K.League, AFC Champions League Two, U23 Asian Cup 2026 qualifiers and C1 Southeast Asian Cup.
In terms of expertise, Mr. Chae is a very disciplined referee. According to statistics, after 7 matches this season, the "black-clad king" has drawn a total of 23 yellow cards, averaging 2.29 cards per match. In addition, there are 2 red cards given, equivalent to 0.29 red cards/match, along with 3 penalty situations.
The confrontation between Vietnam and Malaysia will take place at 7:00 PM at Thien Truong Stadium (Ninh Binh). Although no longer decisive for a ticket to the finals, this is a match that affirms the position of the two teams.
