Malaysian referee: 'Vietnam does not deserve a penalty'

Explaining the clash between Azam Azmi and Doan Van Hau in the 59th minute, referee Salleh said he had carefully watched the video of the incident. He divided the situation into two segments, the first was Van Hau's push that caused Azam Azmi to fall, then the counter-attack of the away defender.

"When Azam Azmi does that, the ball is still rolling, so the referee can blow the penalty according to the rules," referee Salleh told Astro Arena channel. "But in my opinion, the first situation to consider is Van Hau's fault with the opponent, then Azam Azmi's fault."

Mr. Salleh added that if the referee thinks Azam Azmi retaliates against Van Hau, the Malaysian defender deserves a red card. "However, the match should continue with a free-kick for Malaysia, not a penalty for Vietnam, because Van Hau pushed Azam Azmi down in the first situation," he added. "The Malaysian defender retaliated unnecessarily, but perhaps referee Ryuji Sato ignored Van Hau's error."

Mr. Salleh is 56 years old, has been a FIFA referee since 2000 and eight years later joined the group of "AFC Elite" - Asia's top referee. He was sent on duty at the 2010 World Cup as the fourth referee, in addition, he also held the whistle at the 2011 Asian Cup. After retiring in 2011, Salleh worked as a FIFA referee instructor.

Mr. Sato 45 years old, has been a FIFA referee since 2009, is the first foreign referee to start a V-League match in 2014. Japanese referees have experience in refereeing many matches at the Asian Cup, U20 World Cup or FIFA. Arab Cup, or the Australian, Chinese or Paraguayan championships.

Malaysian media are not happy when Mr. Sato once again caused a controversial decision with this team. In the second qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Asia in Dubai, UAE on June 11, 2021, this referee also blew a penalty for Vietnam when striker Nguyen Van Toan was fouled in the Malaysian penalty area. The other common point in these two situations and Que Ngoc Hai both took the penalty kick and scored, helping Vietnam win.

In the match on the evening of December 27, referee Sato also drew an indirect red card to disqualify Van Toan right in the first half. But, he also missed a few moments when Van Hau elbowed his opponent. Despite playing with 10 people, Vietnam still won 3-0 to take the top of Group B.