UE Walkout: Exposing the Flaws of Philippine Football

The UAAP game between the UE Red Warriors Men's Football team and the Ateneo Blue Eagles Men's Football team was nothing short of twists and turns. Goals, offsides, missed calls, and the infamous walkout made the match seem more like a telenovela than a football game.

The UAAP Season 88 football match that took place on Sunday, September 28, 2025, saw some interesting occurrences, though not in a football sense. The University of the East started the match strong with a goal just before halftime. Keeping their momentum, UE brought ADMU to the edge, taking 3 more goals to make it 4-0. Ateneo showed their spirit and rallied back with 2 goals late in the game.

The main talking point of the match happened during the 84th minute, when a collision between two opposing players happened at the edge of the UE box. No foul was given upon the collision, and the referees had stopped play to attend to the fallen players. Once the players were upright, a direct free kick decision was given, even though there was no call once the infraction happened. This decision incited the crowd and even the UE coaching staff, as there was an inconsistency in the officiating. The free kick led to an Ateneo goal, which many deemed offside, that made the score 4-3, seemingly mounting to an Ateneo comeback. The play, however, did not reset as the Red Warriors walked off the pitch in protest towards the decisions that were leaning toward the Blue Eagles' way. The players did ultimately come back out, and the game ended in favor of UE.

Aside from the final goal that seemed to be the breaking point of UE, many calls were missed by the officiating team. Fouls that were not credited as such, though this is common in football, handballs inside the box, which could have been penalties for UE, and offsides that were blatant that were left to play on. The amount of inconsistency during the match left the team with no choice but to express their outrage.

The UAAP has released a statement on this incident, handing a majority of sanctions to the UE team. Here are the decisions of the UAAP Disciplinary Committee:

The Ateneo Men's Football team has also released a statement regarding what transpired, and they had this to say:

Though the statements have been made and sanctions have been given out, there is still one thing that needs to be fixed in this matter: the officiating. This was a UAAP football match; aside from a national team match, this should be one of the more organized football sporting events in the country. The standards of officiating should be better than what was presented during this contest. Admittedly, being a football referee is probably the hardest job on the pitch, but when you miss so many calls that a team has to walk out in protest, you must be doing something severely wrong.

The UAAP also acknowledged concerns raised about the officiating during the game.

In partnership with the PFF, referee performances will continue to be evaluated through a structured, developmental process.

At its core, this match can be linked back as a perfect example of why football fails to get its stride in this country. The talent is here, the structure for development is here, and grassroots efforts are here, persevering in the country. But when we see officiating at the highest tier of the game being scrappy and inconsistent, it sets a precedent for those below them that it's okay to be sloppy in your decisions, which ultimately ruins the game. The efforts of the UAAP in looking into this incident are appreciated, and the martyrdom of the UE Red Warriors could be a catalyst for change for football in this country. The suspensions and bans that were given can now feel like a small sacrifice for the sake of the good of football in the Philippines.