The highlight of round 21 of LPBank V.League 2025-2026 is the clash between The Cong Viettel and Ninh Binh FC at Hang Day Stadium on the evening of May 3. Given the importance of this match, the organizers continue to use foreign referees to officiate the match.
Two Korean FIFA referees, Chae Sang-hyeop and Choi Cheol-jun, will be on duty, taking on the roles of main referee and VAR referee respectively.
Mr. Chae Sang-hyeop is no longer unfamiliar with Vietnamese football. The referee born in 1989 once officiated the match between the Vietnamese national team and Malaysia in the Asian Cup qualifiers in March, and also officiated some matches of Vietnamese clubs in the regional arena.
Meanwhile, Mr. Choi Cheol-jun was assigned to perform his duties in the V.League for the first time, after being on the expected list in round 16 but has not appeared.
The confrontation between The Cong Viettel and Ninh Binh has a great impact on the top group standings. The home team at Hang Day Stadium needs a victory to continue to chase Hanoi Police in the championship race. If they lose points, coach Popov's team's opportunity to compete for the title will become more difficult.
In the opposite direction, Ninh Binh is aiming to squeeze into the top 2 to compete for a spot in the Asian Cup next season. If they win 3 points, they will significantly narrow the gap with The Cong Viettel in the rankings.
The match received even more attention as Ninh Binh currently owns many players who have grown up or played for The Cong Viettel such as Nguyen Hoang Duc, Nguyen Duc Chien or Truong Tien Anh. In addition, Geovane (re-established under the name Nguyen Tai Loc) also once wore the soldier shirt.
