Sam Ngoc Duc's horrifying kick against Than Quang Ninh player
Coach Miura breathed a sigh of relief after Ho Chi Minh City got 3 points against Than Quang Ninh and helped the club escape the crisis. However, the terrifying tackle by “lumberjack” Sam Ngoc Duc in this match was the focus of public attention.
The match did not have many highlights in terms of technicality except for the mistakes at Thong Nhat Stadium on the evening of July 22. It seemed that it would end peacefully with 3 points for the home team. However, Sam Ngoc Duc made the public mention him with a terrible tackle that immediately knocked a Than Quang Ninh player to the ground.

The incident happened in the 39th minute of the second half when Ho Chi Minh City was still leading the away team 2-1. Ngoc Duc, in a phase where the ball went a bit too far, decided to clear the ball straight and take down a Than Quang Ninh player who was rushing down to block the ball.
Ngoc Duc’s “kung fu” kick left The Hung on the ground. However, as coach Phan Thanh Hung announced after the match, The Hung was lucky to not have any serious problems after “taking” the full kick from Ngoc Duc.

However, the assistant referee and the main referee Tran Van Lap immediately signaled a foul and Ngoc Duc received a red card and left the field. With that malicious and offensive move, Ngoc Duc is likely to receive a heavy penalty from the Organizing Committee. This season, Ngoc Duc fouled Van Duc of SLNA and was banned from playing for 3 matches and fined 15 million VND.
But that's not all, in June 2017, the Disciplinary Board unanimously suspended the player from Nghe An's VST academy for 8 matches and fined him 30 million VND when the player wearing the Hanoi shirt tackled Anh Hung (Hai Phong) roughly.
In addition, Ngoc Duc must also be responsible for all medical expenses and recovery of Nguyen Anh Hung's injuries.