The Vietnamese Football Federation (VFF) has vowed to strictly punish any players and referees who are caught committing or ignoring violent acts on field.
On March 3, the VFF announced its punishment to Tran Dinh Dong, a defender of Song Lam Nghe An Club and three referees. Even though Song Lam Nghe An FC argued that Dong did not intentionally cause injury to a HV An Giang's player, Nguyen Anh Hung, Hong was fined VND20 million and banned from this year V-League. He was also asked to pay all hospital fees for Anh Hung.
Dinh Dong (yellow) broke Anh Hung's leg when trying to take the ball during a match on February 26
Nguyen Hai Huong, head of VFF's disciplinary committee said, "This blind protection from FCs has spoiled many players. They never admit their faults. Dong's action was not intentional but it was brutal and unnecessary. Hong could jump up but he chose to kick, breaking the Hung's leg."
According to Huong, Hung is from a poor family. His father died and his mother's health is in bad shape so everything depends on Hung's career. Meanwhile, Dong already has a 'rough' history on the field and received punishment from the VFF previously. "The media and public should strongly criticise such actions to protect other players. There are many brutal players playing in V-League," Huong said.
The referee committee also informed that they suspended three referees. This is not the first time that referees show leniency to violence on field despite warnings from the committee. However, head of referee committee Nguyen Tan Hien said they due to commit mistakes from the pressure. "But we hope they will deliver stricter punishment in the coming times." he said.
Recently, many violence scenes have been captured during the V-League, leading to serious injuries to the players. After the first 29 matches, it is estimated that 4.58 yellow cards were given out per match. In the mean time, only 3.2 yellow cards were given out per match during the English Premiere League, one of the most familiar league to Vietnamese audience.
Even some experts had to admitted that some of the collisions seems to satisfy player's blood thirst than to compete for the ball.
