PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Sen expressed approval of the referee’s decision to stop a match early between Cambodian boxer Choeung Lvei and Thai boxer Samy Banchamek, emphasizing the importance of the athletes’ lives over the sport.

On Saturday’s match between the Cambodian and Thai boxer, the referee called the match early, citing a concern for the safety of the boxers as fighting became too intense. Had the match been three rounds, the Khmer boxer would have won, but as it was a five-round game, the win was given to Thailand.

In a special voice message on the night of 16 April 2023, the Prime Minister stated, "I agree with the interpretation of the referee! We cannot focus only on winning, but must consider peoples’ lives as well!”

His remarks come at a time when there have been a number of accusations against referees for being biased towards Thai players-including arbitrarily changing the number of rounds per game.

The Prime Minister went on to say that boxers who are training for next month’s SEA Games should not be in the ring now, but should be focusing on preparing for the games instead.