VAR helps Patrik Lê Giang avoid being sent off against Malaysia

The Vietnam national team escaped the risk of playing with 10 men in the first leg of the ASEAN Cup 2026 semi-final against Malaysia, after the referee changed his decision to show a red card to goalkeeper Patrik Lê Giang thanks to VAR intervention.

The incident occurred in the 61st minute, when Malaysia were pushing forward to find an equalizer. Mohamadou Sumareh broke through behind Vietnam's defense and had a chance to approach the goal. Patrik Lê Giang immediately rushed out of the penalty area to block the Malaysian striker.

Referee Rustam Lutfullin judged that the Vietnamese goalkeeper had committed a foul and immediately showed a direct red card. This decision put Vietnam at risk of playing with a man down for the remaining time, while the visitors were leading 1-0 thanks to a header by Nguyễn Xuân Son at the end of the first half.

However, the VAR team quickly intervened. After communicating with the VAR officials, Mr. Lutfullin went to the touchline monitor to review the situation himself. After checking, the referee decided to cancel the red card for Patrik Lê Giang.

By the 65th minute, the Vietnamese goalkeeper was allowed to continue playing. Thus, the Vietnam national team maintained their full squad and did not have to face a major disadvantage for the remaining more than 25 minutes of the match.

This was a significant situation because Malaysia were pressing to find an equalizer. If the sending-off decision had been upheld, the match could have changed significantly as Vietnam would have had to play with 10 men for a long period.