Accordingly, the referee team controlling the friendly match between Vietnam and Cambodia tonight (March 19) includes Mr. Le Vu Linh (table referee) and 3 colleagues from Hong Kong (China) Tam Ping Wun (main referee), So Man Ka, Fok Pong shing (2 wing referees). All four of these "blue shirt kings" are FIFA-level referees.
The presence of a Vietnamese referee on duty in the match of the Vietnamese team surprised many people. This is not allowed to appear in official tournaments. However, with the nature of a friendly match, the organizing committee invited a Vietnamese referee.
However, Mr. Le Vu Linh has been a controversial name in recent times. It all started with the decisions in the match between Ho Chi Minh City and Thanh Hoa clubs in round 13 of V.League 2024-2025 on February 14.
The Thanh team then continuously sent petitions to the Vietnam Football Federation to request clarification of the issue. After much controversy, VFF admitted that referee Le Vu Linh made a mistake in the 65th minute when ribamar was fouled in the penalty area, but Thanh Hoa was not awarded a penalty.
VFF has directed functional departments to stop performing the duties of the referee team, including the main referee Le Vu Linh, the wing referee Le Xuan Hung, Le Tran Nghia and the table referee Nguyen Van Phuc; the VAR team includes referees Nguyen Ngoc Chau (captain) and Tran Ngoc Nho ( deputy referee).
Feeling dissatisfied, Thanh Hoa club continued to make recommendations, requesting to clarify other situations, publicize the referee's penalty and Mr. Le Vu Linh had to apologize to the team. Thanh Hoa even submitted a petition to the Criminal Police Department (C02, Ministry of Public Security).
Based on the functions and tasks of the Criminal Police Department and the coordination regulations between the Criminal Police Department and VFF on crime prevention and control, and law violations in football, the Criminal Police Department has transferred the dispatch and documents of Thanh Hoa Football Company Limited to VFF for consideration and handling according to regulations.
The VFF later said it would coordinate with the authorities to clarify the incident.
