Coach Rajagobal: 'Malaysia was treated unfairly'
"Seems so unfair to Malaysia, when I reviewed the situation and saw nothing," Rajagobal wrote on Twitter. "Maybe the referee observed something that we don't see on TV? I remember the AFF Cup 2022 semi-final against Thailand when Fadli Saas also received a red card."
Mr. Rajagobal is considered a Malaysian football hero when he led his home team to win the 2009 SEA Games gold medal and especially the 2010 AFF Cup. It is still the only AFF Cup in Malaysia's history up to now, helping Mr. Rajagobal to be awarded the title. Datuk.
In the 59th minute on My Dinh field, Van Hau knocked 21-year-old defender Azam Azmi out of the border across Malaysia. While standing up, Azmi kicked the 23-year-old defender in the head. Television did not capture this moment, but referee Ryuji Sato fully observed. He decided to blow the penalty for Vietnam, because at that time the ball was still rolling.
When many viewers did not understand the situation, AFF Cup commentator Rhysh Rai cited FIFA rule 12.4 that "when the ball is live, a player or team member fouls an opponent or the referee team outside the field, the point is free kick. will be on the touchline closest to the foul," added Rhysh Rai. "According to this rule, referee Sato's decision to blow the penalty is correct."
However, there are international reporters who think that the referee should punish Van Hau for pushing Azam Azmi down. Dutch writer from Eurosport Josse van Bakel commented: "Worst referee decision I have ever seen".
Malaysian newspaper reporter The Star T Avineshwaran said that "the referee is too kind to Van Hau and this player will be hated in Malaysia". "Now Malaysia needs to focus on the last match against Singapore. I believe in retribution," Avineshwaran added.
VAR is not applied in the group stage of the AFF Cup 2022 as expected, when the tournament takes place in the home-guest format in one turn. Arema club analyst Tommy Desky said VAR is likely to be included in the semi-finals but no decision has been made yet.
Many Malaysian newspapers also called the penalty for Vietnam "controversial". The Berita Harian newspaper dedicated a separate article about Mr. Sato who used to hold the whistle when Vietnam met Malaysia in the second qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Asia in Dubai, UAE on June 11, 2021. At that time, the Japanese referee also blew a penalty for Vietnam in a controversial situation, with Van Toan being fouled in the penalty area. From there, Que Ngoc Hai took a penalty kick to seal a 2-1 victory for Vietnam.
On the evening of December 27, Ngoc Hai also scored from the above controversial penalty to help Vietnam lead 2-0. In addition, Nguyen Tien Linh and Nguyen Hoang Duc also scored in the host's 3-0 victory.
