Vietnam and Thailand played out a 0-0 draw but it probably wasn’t as dull as the scoreline seems to suggest. Two controversial incidents in the first half appeared to change the complexion of the match in a big way.

The first moment came when Thailand were suddenly given a penalty for a foul committed inside the box, the referee pointing to the spot with shocked and confused Vietnam players rushing in to understand what exactly happened.

Replays showed minimal contact, but the decision stood, and Theerathon Bunmathan stepped up take the spot kick. A brilliant save by Vietnam goalkeeper Dang Van Lam kept the score at 0-0 however, and the Golden Dragons pushed forward.

Soon after the penalty incident, it seemed like Vietnam had taken the lead, with the ball headed home and celebrations in the My Dinh Stadium underway, only for the referee to blow again and give a free-kick for a foul on Thai goalkeeper Kawin Thamsatchanan.

Replays again appeared to show minimal contact by Doan Van Hau of Vietnam, but the scoreline remained goalless and that is how it ended.

Angry Vietnamese fans afterwards took to the Facebook profile of Omani referee Ahmed Alkaf, and spammed one of his posts with hate messages for the controversial decisions.

Safe to say that the Vietnam fans were having none of those decisions.

 

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