AFF Cup 2018: VFF fined 220 million VND for unusual incident.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFF) has just announced a fine of $10,000 USD against the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) for failing to send a player to the press conference before their 3-0 victory over Laos.
According to AFF regulations, one day before each match, the coach and one registered starting player are required to attend a press conference and answer questions. In addition, the team's media officer must ensure the presence of the coach and one starting player at the press conference.
However, at the press conference before the match against Laos in Group A of the 2018 AFF Cup on November 7th, the Vietnamese national team violated this rule. Specifically, at the press conference in Vientiane, only coach Park Hang Seo was present; no players from the Vietnamese team attended. On the Laotian side, both head coach Sundramorthy and captain Thothilath Sibounhuang attended the press conference.
Due to the aforementioned violations, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) was fined $10,000 USD (approximately 220 million VND) by the AFF. The VFF must comply with this penalty within 7 days. Notably, in its announcement of penalties for violations by teams in the 2018 AFF Cup, the AFF made no mention of penalizing the VFF for allowing fans to light flares outside My Dinh Stadium during the 2-0 victory against Malaysia, as feared by the Vietnamese media and football fans.
