In the 84th minute of the match between Song Lam Nghe An and Hanoi in round 22 of V.League, the coaching staff of Hanoi club asked Kyle Colonna to come on to replace Nguyen Thanh Chung.
However, when overseas Vietnamese players came to the referee's table to register, the 4th referee, Nguyen Kim Viet Bao, did not accept and explained that each team could only use 1 overseas Vietnamese player without citizenship on the field. At that time, Hanoi had a Canadian midfielder - Pierre Lamothe.
After that, although giving some feedback to the referee team, in the context of the match being very tense (score 1-1), Hanoi was forced to adjust other personnel, sending Dao Van Nam onto the field in the 90th minute.
After the match, coach Teguramori said: "I don't understand why the 4th referee said that only an overseas Vietnamese player was allowed on the field. This affects our plan. This issue needs to be raised in the management of referees".
According to Article 10, Section 5 - Regulations on the registration period and list of participants in the Tournament, participating clubs are allowed to register a minimum of 18 players to a maximum of 30 players, including: at least 18 players with professional player contracts; at least 3 goalkeepers; maximum 1 Vietnamese player of foreign origin; maximum 2 foreign players of Vietnamese origin (Vietnam); maximum 3 foreign players.
According to Clause a - Article 12, Section 5 on Match Registration and replacement in matches, in each match, the club must register a minimum list of 16 to a maximum of 20 players, including: 11 official players (including 1 goalkeeper); a minimum of 5 to a maximum of 9 reserve players (including at least 1 goalkeeper); a maximum of 3 foreign players.
Only players whose names are on the list confirmed at the pre-match technical meeting can register to compete in the match when they are confirmed by the VFF to be eligible to compete.
Thus, 2 registered overseas Vietnamese players can appear on the field at the same time.
Taking the example of the match between Hong Linh Ha Tinh and Hoang Anh Gia Lai in November 2024, in the 71st minute, Hong Linh Ha Tinh sent Viktor Le onto the field to replace Vuong Van Huy. At that time, on the field, the home team used 2 overseas Vietnamese players, Adou Minh and Viktor Le (at that time, they did not have Vietnamese nationality).
