After a 4-0 victory over Tampines Rovers in the first leg of the AFC Champions League Two round of 16, Hanoi Police is again facing the possibility of being defeated 0-3 due to violations of player registration regulations.
In the group stage, Stefan Mauk and Alves both received 3 yellow cards in 3 different matches. According to the regulations for the 2025-2026 season, players who receive 3 yellow cards in 3 different matches will automatically be suspended in the next match. Cards are only expunged after the group stage if they do not meet the conditions to be penalized, meaning they only receive 1 or 2 cards.
After the 0-1 defeat to Tai Po on December 11, the next match of Hanoi Police is the confrontation with Tampines Rovers in the round of 16. However, both Mauk and Alves were registered and played in this match. Notably, Alves also scored 1 goal.
According to AFC's disciplinary regulations, teams using ineligible players may be defeated 0-3. If this clause is applied, the 4-0 result of Hanoi Police will be cancelled and replaced by a 0-3 defeat. However, this penalty does not mean that the team will be eliminated from the tournament. In case of being defeated, the Vietnamese representative still has a chance to advance if they win with a large enough difference in the second leg.
A similar incident happened at this tournament. In March 2025, a Japanese club was defeated for registering a player who had not completed his suspension from his old team. This is a precedent showing that AFC strictly applies the regulations on player playing status.
