Warning of increased violence on the pitch in V.League

Not yet happy...

If the first 3 rounds of V.League 2018The average number of goals scored was less than 2 goals/match, but this year, that number is 3.57 goals/match. The highest in round 3 last year was 1.78 goals/match, far lower than this year's number of 3.57 goals/match. The decision of the V.League Organizing Committee to increase the number of foreign players to 3 has had an effect.

The total number of spectators attending the stadium was 51,000, an average of 7,286 people/match, far exceeding the average of 6,294 people/match of the previous season. This shows that Vietnamese audiences have been interested in V.League after the success of the teams in regional tournaments in 2018.

Rimario (Thanh Hoa) was fined 2 matches, which is a warning bell for players who still like to play violent football. Photo: Thanh Hoa Club

...was worried

However, the increasing trend of violence on the pitch is a matter of public concern. If after the first 3 rounds of V.League 2018, the referees did not have to draw any red cards, then this year there were red cards in every round. After 3 rounds, there were a total of 4 red cards used, in which the match between Viettel and Hanoi FC in round 3 alone had 8 yellow cards and 1 direct red card. That is because the referees still missed cards, otherwise the number would be even higher.

It is not difficult to see that there are four main reasons why football violence is increasing: players' awareness of obeying football rules is poor, referees are not decisive in handling the matter, clubs' training and coaching still take this issue lightly, and referees are slow in handing out punishments.

Some teams with many cards are foreign players who are playing in Vietnam for the first time, but violent situations are often caused by foreign players who have been playing in V.League for many years, typically Oseni, Hoang Vu Samson (Hanoi), Do Merlo (SHB.Da Nang)...

The most regrettable case is the case of national team captain Que Ngoc Hai. After the rough tackle that broke Anh Khoa's (SHB Da Nang) leg in V-League 2015, forcing Anh Khoa to quit his job, Hai changed a lot in his playing style for the national team. But in V-League 2019, playing three matches, Hai had two consecutive tackles that seriously injured opponents.

After only 2 rounds, he received 1 red card, 1 yellow card, and was banned from playing for 4 matches. This is a tough decision, enough to deter any player who, instead of using football techniques, prefers violence to scare the opponent.

Alarmingly, even a team with a squad of good quality players like Hanoi FC has had 7 yellow cards and 1 red card. Van Quyet, a former national team player, also received a card after elbowing his opponent.

Say no to violence

Apart from the violent matches between Viettel - Hanoi (1 red card, 4 yellow cards), Hai Phong - Nam Dinh (4 yellow cards)... Except for the red card of Jeremie Lynch due to receiving the second yellow card for taking off his shirt to celebrate his first hat-trick goal, the remaining red cards were correct.

Que Ngoc Hai has been continuously punished while playing for Viettel. Photo: Dung Nguyen

In fact, there are still some teams like SLNA, Nam Dinh, Binh Duong, HAGL… that do a good job of instilling the spirit in young players, so there are few violent situations. The “veterans” Dinh Dong and Van Binh (SLNA) play very fiercely on the field but still follow the rules.

While the decisions of the disciplinary committee for the players are considered strict and timely, the audience believes that the referees still have cards left over, and the referees are quite slow in "handling the soldiers". The efforts of the new head of the tournament organizing committee Nguyen Trong Hoai and the new head of the disciplinary committee Vu Xuan Thanh are highly appreciated.

The fact that the VFF referee board “both carries the baby and grinds rice” is closed from A-Z, from the place of training, building the referee force to assigning, managing and supervising referees, makes the handling of referees who make mistakes slow and leaves many doubts. In advanced football, people separate the training and professional development from the assignment of referee management and supervision to cross-check each other.

The two heavy penalties for players Que Ngoc Hai (Viettel) and Rimario (Thanh Hoa) will be like a wake-up call for players who still like to play violent football.