The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has invited two teams of Thai and Malaysian referees to officiate two key games in Round 23 of the top-tier V-League 1 after a referee made a critical mistake in a match last week.

Three Thai referees will take charge of the match between SHB Da Nang and Sai Gon football clubs at Hoa Xuan Stadium in Da Nang City at 5:00 pm on Thursday.

Three Malaysian referees will supervise the match between Viettel and TopenLand Binh Dinh at Hang Day Stadium in Hanoi at 7:15 pm on Friday.

These two games’ fourth officials will be Hoang Ngoc Ha and Ngo Duy Lan, who are Vietnamese FIFA and FIFA Elite-level referees, respectively.

Other games will all be controlled by Vietnamese referees.

The decision was taken after Tran Ngoc Nho, who refereed a game between Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) and TopenLand Binh Dinh last week, let HAGL level 1-1 with a disputed penalty in stoppage time, which was then assessed by the VFF as an incorrect decision.

This is not the first time foreign referees have been invited to officiate V-League 1 matches.

Most recently, the match between Sai Gon and Hai Phong football clubs on October 28 at Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City had Malaysian referees in charge.

On October 23, South Korean AFC Elite-level referees ran the match between Hai Phong and Hanoi football clubs at Lach Tray Stadium in Hai Phong City.

The 2022 V-League 1 season kicked off on February 25 with the competition among 13 clubs -- namely Becamex Binh Duong, Dong A Thanh Hoa, Hanoi, Hai Phong, Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Hong Linh Ha Tinh, Nam Dinh, Sai Gon, SHB Da Nang, Song Lam Nghe An, Ho Chi Minh City, TopenLand Binh Dinh, and Viettel.

It is closing down on the last four rounds before concluding on November 19.

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