Thailand sparks controversy by not including Vietnam’s men football gold medal win in SEA Games highlights

Despite being one of the major events, the 3-2 comeback win by Vietnam over the hosts was absent from the 2-minute-and-30-second video shown at the ceremony on Saturday night.

In the recap designed to capture the memorable moments of the 33rd Games, organizers selected questionable clips to represent men’s football. It featured a group stage match between Malaysia and Laos, and a celebration by Vietnam’s Pham Ly Duc following a goal by Nguyen Dinh Bac, also during a group stage encounter against Laos.

The women’s football segment followed a similar pattern, showing the Philippines celebrating a late group stage goal against Vietnam, rather than moments from the final, where the Philippines triumphed on penalties following a controversial refereeing decision.

Notably, the video focused heavily on Thailand athletes across other sports but completely excluded the host nation’s football and futsal teams, because of their historic failure to secure a single gold medal in any of the four football-related events.

However, Thailand did not shy away from all defeats, as the video included scenes of the Thailand women’s futsal team losing their semi-final penalty shootout against Indonesia, making the exclusion of the men’s football final even more questionable.

This left many fans confused, with social media posts noting the omission attracting hundreds of comments.

The men’s football final match ended in a dramatic fashion. Thailand led 2-0 before Vietnam equalized in just 11 minutes of the second half and eventually won 3-2 in extra time with Nguyen Thanh Nhan’s goal. The result handed Thailand their first home defeat in SEA Games men’s football in 66 years.

While the men’s football final was left out, other Vietnamese athletes did make the cut. The video featured shooters Trinh Thu Vinh and Pham Quang Huy, as well as an esports gamer pointed proudly to the national flag on the jersey after winning. The segment for each sport appeared to be selected based on emotion rather than strictly focusing on gold medal moments or finals.

The closing ceremony on Saturday lasted about 90 minutes. It marked the end of 11 days of competition, where Thailand dominated the medal tally with a record 233 golds. Vietnam finished third with 87 golds, trailing Indonesia’s 91. Malaysia will host the 34th SEA Games in September 2027.

The controversial SEA Games ended