Vietnamese football continues to enhance referee standards

Closing ceremony of the second training session for Referees and Supervisors during the 2025/26 National Professional Football League season.

On the morning of April 2, 2026 in Ho Chi Minh City, the second training session for referee supervisors and referees during the 2025/26 National Professional Football League season officially concluded after four consecutive days of work, focusing on learning, exchanging experiences, and physical fitness tests.

Attending the closing ceremony were Mr. Tran Anh Tu – Vice President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), Chairman of the Board of Directors of VPF Company; Mr. Dang Thanh Ha – Head of the VFF Referee Committee; Mr. Nguyen Minh Ngoc – General Director of VPF Company, Head of the Organizing Committee for the 2025/26 National Professional Football Leagues; Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung – Deputy General Director of VPF Company; referee instructors, match supervisors, along with 28 main referees and 39 assistant referees assigned to the 2025/26 National First Division, and some referees currently serving in V.League 1-2025/26.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Tran Anh Tu emphasized the crucial role of the referee team in ensuring fair, high-quality, and successful competitions. Recently, Vietnamese football has achieved many positive results at various national team levels, partly due to the domestic league environment and the referees' officiating work. Training sessions like this one are considered essential opportunities for referees to review, improve their expertise, minimize errors, thereby contributing to the professional quality of matches, especially during the highly competitive second half of the National Professional Football League season.

Furthermore, the application of VAR technology continues to be directed for expansion and increased use in National First Division matches in the coming period. However, the key factor remains the professional competence and composure of the referees on the field.

Throughout the four-day training session, Referees and Supervisors participated in many practical modules led by instructors from the Referee Committee, including updates on rule knowledge, handling real-life scenarios, professional exchanges, and completing physical fitness tests according to standards.

Immediately after the program concludes, the referees will return to their duties in the national professional football leagues, with matches from Round 13 of the 2025/26 National First Division and Round 17 of V.League 1-2025/26 from April 3 to April 5.

One Vietnamese referee did not pass the physical fitness test

The National First Division is about to undergo a historic change related to referees