Hanoi Police Beat Dong Nai 3-0: V-League Stirs Again Over On-Pitch Violence

The referee Lê Vũ Linh’s whistle had barely faded when Văn Sơn’s arm swung up. Not to apologise. Not to challenge for the ball. The visiting defender’s elbow crashed into Nguyễn Đình Bắc’s face, turning a harmless-looking situation into the thin line between football and violence. On the pitch, the players were still running. Under the stands, the shouting had not yet settled when the referee pulled out a red card. That was the 15th minute of the V-League round 3 match between Cong An Ha Noi and Dong Nai on September 20. The match ended 3-0 in favour of Cong An Ha Noi, but few people spoke about the three goals. They spoke instead about an elbow, a series of kicks from behind, and a deep worry about Vietnamese football’s image before the FIFA ASEAN Cup. After Văn Sơn’s brutal challenge, Đình Bắc fell to the ground holding his face. The attacking player rose and reacted angrily. Referee Lê Vũ Linh sent Văn Sơn off with a direct red card and booked Đình Bắc for provocation. The yellow card could be explained by the laws of the game, but the emotions of fans could not. The second half brought an even bigger controversy. Đình Bắc shielded the ball as Huỳnh Tấn Sinh pressed him. The veteran Dong Nai centre-back did not use his shoulder or body; he repeatedly kicked at the younger striker’s legs. Đình Bắc went down. The referee showed a yellow card. Many supporters felt the punishment was too light for such a violent act. If the kick came from behind and carried a high level of danger, the disciplinary board had to step in. On the Vietnamese football fan forum, the match dominated every conversation. One fan wrote: “Fouls are unavoidable in football. However, deliberate attacks on opponents must be removed from football.” The comment received thousands of likes. Another fan blamed the officials: “The referee team must take responsibility for handling this too lightly. Tấn Sinh should have received a red card.” When a defender repeatedly kicks an opponent in a short period, a yellow card is not enough. It sends a dangerous message: if the first kick goes unpunished, the second one becomes bolder. Some recalled Huỳnh Tấn Sinh’s past glories. He played for Vietnam U20 at the World Cup, helped U22 Vietnam win the SEA Games and had more than ten years of professional football. One supporter wrote: “Yet he still lacked discipline in a dispute with a younger player. Tấn Sinh should not have been involved in this mess. His career could have been better if he had known how to control himself.” That is the biggest regret: a talent who once conquered continental stages losing himself in an unnecessary moment. The bigger fear is about Vietnam’s squad depth before a regional tournament. Another fan wrote: “I am worried about Vietnamese players before the FIFA ASEAN Cup. We have already lost too many players to injury.” Injury is part of football, but injury caused by deliberate destruction is unacceptable. A national team cannot enter a major tournament with a depleted squad because of hot-headed acts in the domestic league. Some comments focused on technical quality. “If Vietnamese football cannot eliminate violent plays like this, we cannot rise to the next level. Only players with poor technique and poor discipline produce such crude tackles,” one forum member wrote. That phrasing may be extreme, but the message is clear: in modern football, technique and physical strength must come with self-control. Another fan returned to sportsmanship: “Football was born for learning, not for destroying opponents. Where is the noble sporting spirit of the players?” That question is not new. It has been asked many times over the years of V-League. But each time it is asked, it becomes more bitter because the answer has never changed. A long-time supporter pointed to the repeating pattern: “Violence has been happening for years in V-League, but somehow we cannot fix it. Just a few weeks ago, Văn Hậu stepped on an opponent. Now Tấn Sinh and Văn Sơn attack Đình Bắc in the same crude way.” The sad truth is that these situations are no longer exceptions. They have become a loop: a hot-headed player, a victim falling down, a possible lenient punishment, and then everything goes back to normal. Văn Hậu was recently banned for four matches and fined 20 million VND for a violent foul on Doãn Ngọc Tân. Less than a month later, Văn Sơn and Tấn Sinh produced similar images. If the disciplinary committee does not act firmly, V-League will keep paying the price. Fans can accept beautiful goals, but they should never accept deliberate attempts to hurt colleagues. Not everyone sided with Đình Bắc. A group of fans believed the striker brought trouble through his showy style and provocation. They said his slow ball shielding and excessive tricks turned him into a target. That opinion is controversial, but it offers a perspective Đình Bắc must seriously consider. Nobody has the right to use violence against him, but he can adjust his behaviour to protect himself. Football always needs strong personalities, but personality should not come at the cost of injury. Some asked the disciplinary body to review the footage, especially if the kick from behind was highly dangerous. Even without technology on the pitch, a clearly recorded incident can be dealt with after the match. The key is whether the committee has the courage to impose a heavy ban or will once again choose a soft punishment. The match ended. Three points went to Cong An Ha Noi, but the story did not stop at the scoreline. V-League had one more night stained by violence. Players left the pitch and fans left the stands, but the kicks from behind remained in everyone’s mind. That raises a vital question: will Vietnamese football be strict enough to protect its own talented players? Or will we keep hurting each other before every FIFA ASEAN Cup, every World Cup, and every dream of reaching the wider world? In football, some mistakes take three seconds to make but many years to repair. If no one draws the line, if referees keep showing yellow cards for kicks from behind, if players keep treating opponents as enemies instead of colleagues, V-League will never escape its own shadow. Football does not need fake heroes. Football needs players who know their strength and know when to stop. Fans are waiting for that – not in slogans, but in actions.