The SEA Games 33 Organizing Committee in Thailand has issued a formal apology to Vietnam and Laos following a technical failure that prevented the national anthem music from being played before the men’s football opening match on Wednesday.
Vietnam players sing the national anthem before the 2-1 victory over Laos at the SEA Games 33, at Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand on Dec. 3, 2025. Photo by Read/Duc Dong |
Vietnam won the match 2-1, but the pre-game ceremony was marked with controversy when the sound system malfunctioned. As a result, players from both teams were forced to sing their respective national anthems a cappella without the music.
About two hours after the match, the organizers sent an official letter to the Olympic Committees of both Vietnam and Laos accepting full responsibility. The letter was issued in coordination with the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) and the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), the bodies overseeing men’s football at the SEA Games.
“We would like to extend our deepest apologies to all related parties for the technical difficulties at the beginning of the football match between Lao DPR and Vietnam on Dec. 3, 2025 at Rajamangala National Stadium that resulted in the inability to play National Anthems of the two countries as scheduled. We pledge not to let this incident happen again,” wrote SAT Director Gongsak Yodmani.
The Vietnam Olympic Committee has confirmed receipt of the apology.
Vietnam players sing the national anthem without music before their SEA Games match with Laos in Thailand on Dec. 3, 2025. Video by Read/Duc Dong
The anthem mishap is the latest in a series of administrative errors by the host nation involving national symbols.
Just days prior, a graphic for the women’s football Group A match between Thailand and Indonesia (scheduled for Friday) featured incorrect flags. The design team reportedly mixed up the Indonesian flag with the Laotian flag, and the Thai flag with the Vietnamese flag. The image was quickly deleted from FAT’s social media channels.
In late October, a similar controversy occurred during the draw ceremony for the 2025 ASEAN U19 Futsal Championship. During the draw, the Vietnamese flag was mistakenly replaced with the Chinese flag.
The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) sent an urgent letter of protest to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and FAT regarding that incident. In response, FAT president Nualphan Lamsam, also known as Madam Pang, wrote a letter of apology and sent a delegation to Hanoi to convey the message personally. She also visited the Embassy of Vietnam in Thailand to apologize directly.
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