Coach Kim Sang-sik's strange behavior towards the referee made the audience laugh.

In the final breathless minutes, coach Kim Sang-sik became the center of attention.

In the thrilling final match on the evening of July 29 at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, U.23 Vietnam excellently defeated host U.23 Indonesia with a score of 1-0 thanks to the only goal of Nguyen Cong Phuong in the first half. Thereby, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team won the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 Championship. This is Vietnam's third consecutive championship in the regional U.23 tournament, after 2022 and 2023, a new record that will certainly be difficult to surpass in the future.

The match was tense from start to finish, especially in the final minutes of extra time, when U.23 Indonesia continuously pressed to find an equalizer. In that context, the television camera captured a rather humorous moment: Coach Kim Sang-sik… clasped his hands and bowed to the main referee.

Previously, the linesman thought that Mr. Kim had intentionally obstructed a strong throw-in by an Indonesian player, so he advised the main referee to give the Korean coach a yellow card.

Có hành động 'lạ' với trọng tài, HLV Kim Sang-sik khiến khán giả không nhịn được cười- Ảnh 1. — Coach Kim Sang-sik clasped his hands and bowed to the referee when he received a yellow card.

This gesture made Vietnamese viewers watching live unable to stop laughing. "Mr. Kim is bowing to the referee", "He's really bowing to the referee", "Kim Sang-sik is so funny" and many other excited comments continuously appeared on the chat box of the live broadcast platform of the match.

Not only remembered for his sense of humor, Coach Kim Sang-sik also "scored" in the eyes of fans for his fiery spirit and close guidance throughout the tournament. He often shouted, went to the sidelines to motivate his players and celebrated emotionally after each goal.