On the evening of January 5, the Vietnamese team defeated the Thai team with a score of 3-2 in the second leg of the 2024 ASEAN Cup final right at the opponent's Rajamangala stadium (total score 5-3 in favor of Vietnam) to thereby win the championship for the third time in this playground.
For the Thais, this was an unbearable defeat because it was also the first time they lost to the Vietnamese team in both the first and second leg of the final.
After the defeat, the Thai media dissected the important issues that caused the War Elephants to lose to the Golden Star Warriors. In particular, Siam Sport mentioned that the main referee did not manage the match well, which was one of the reasons why the Thai team lost.
“During the 90 minutes of play along with the extra time, it felt like Korean referee Ko Hyung Jin did not do a good job of managing the match on the field,” Siam Sport said.
Thailand's leading sports newspaper also pointed out 3 specific situations: First is the situation of Tuan Hai's tackle that received a yellow card in the 3rd minute. According to Siam Sport, the Vietnamese striker tackled defender Khemdee with both feet, and slow-motion footage shows that this was a very dangerous tackle.
However, the referee did not consult VAR and only gave Tuan Hai a yellow card. And a few minutes later, Tuan Hai himself scored the opening goal for the Vietnamese team.
Next, in Weerathep's red card, the referee had previously ignored the situation where Supachok was fouled by a Vietnamese player and still allowed the match to continue. Perhaps Weerathep felt dissatisfied and was forced to commit a foul to prevent a counterattack from Vietnam. The referee should have blown the whistle in the previous situation, when Supachok was fouled.
Finally, in the 85th minute, the Vietnamese defender clearly fouled Suphanan in the penalty area from a high ball dispute.
Slow motion footage showed that defender Xuan Manh had kicked Suphanan's leg, but referee Ko Hyung Jin did not directly watch VAR after this play, but only listened to the announcement from the VAR room. It should have been a penalty for the Thai team.
In addition to the referee-related reasons, Siam Sport also emphasized that the Thai team's defeat against the Vietnamese team was due to many factors, from tactics, personnel to the way Japanese coach Masatada Ishii used his players.
