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| Referee Vo Minh Tri. |
VietNamNet – The news that Singaporean referee Shamsul Maidin was selected by FIFA for the 2006 World Cup in Germany touches the pain of Vietnamese football fans.
The National Referee Council and the Vietnam Football Federation has long held a burning ambition of having a Vietnamese referee at the football World Cup. Bearing witness to the progress of Singaporean football reopens the recent wounds to Vietnamese football of referee scandals and the failed World Cup dream.
According to Chairman of the National Referee Council Nguyen Van Mui, for a country that has football at low level in the world map, FIFA’s selection of a Singaporean referee for the World Cup 2006 is a wonderful advertisement for Singaporean football. That is also a sure-fire means of a lowly football nation to attend the world’s top football event. Yet, it also reminds Vietnam of the challenges it must face.
“Apart from rebuilding trust in referees after recent scandals, the National Referee Council has a dream of sending Vietnamese referees to the World Cup,” said Mr. Mui.
But when will this dream become a reality?
Without the recent ref scandals, Vietnam would have had an abundance of referees for possible selection, at least equivalent to those of Singapore, Thailand or Malaysia, which now have the most FIFA-standard referees in the region. Moreover, the qualification of Vietnamese referees is not below par. Luong The Tai refereed the final match of the 21st SEA Games, and Truong The Toan attended the final rounds of the 2004 Athens Olympics.
According to Mr. Mui, aside from their current reputation for being as shady as a three-dollar bill, there are two other major reasons keeping Vietnamese referees from World Cup matches. Firstly, the muscle Vietnam can flex in the Southeast Asia Football Federation and the Asian Football Confederation is still underpowered. Secondly, Vietnamese referees speak a poor level of the English language.
Mr. Mui said that the National Referee Council will consult with the VFF for investment in their two top referees, Vo Minh Tri, 34, and Pham Manh Long, 30. The two referees will then be recommended to the AFC by the VFF for selection for international football events, following the footsteps of the Singaporeans for Shamsul Maidin eight years ago.
With VFF backing, Vo Minh Tri and Pham Manh Long might just see Vietnamese referees realize their World Cup dream.
(Source: NLD) | 
