The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has just issued disciplinary decisions related to Vietnamese football, including penalties for the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and striker Nguyen Dinh Bac.
Accordingly, VFF was fined 1,500 USD for allowing the situation of many individuals being warned in the same match. In the confrontation between U22 Vietnam and U22 Thailand at SEA Games 2025 on December 18, 2025, the referee issued cards to 5 members on the Vietnamese side.
According to AFC regulations, federations must be responsible in case the number of players or officials receiving cards exceeds the permitted limit. VFF has 30 days to complete financial obligations from the time of receiving the notice.
In addition, striker Nguyen Dinh Bac himself also received a heavier penalty after a situation identified as a serious foul in the third-place match of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship against South Korea on January 23, 2026.
The player born in 2004 was sent off for direct play and then the AFC applied an additional suspension of 1 match. In total, Dinh Bac was banned from playing for 2 matches and fined 1,000 USD, with a similar payment period of 30 days.
Notably, because Dinh Bac is no longer of age to participate in the next AFC U23 Championship, the disciplinary action will be transferred to the national team level. This means he cannot participate in the match between Vietnam and Malaysia in the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers on March 31.
If called up to participate in the ASEAN Cup 2026, this striker will also have to serve a suspension in the opening match.
