Violence on the pitch…

(Baonghean) - FIFA ranks tackles from behind, kicks to the shins and elbows as extremely dangerous fouls in football. Referees can immediately issue red cards on the field, and even impose sanctions when they consider that unsportsmanlike behavior needs to be deterred.

For fouling Manh Hung in the match against SLNA, striker Gonzalo (Hanoi T&T) was given a red card by the referee. Photo: D.C

Of course, the Organizing Committee of the Vietnam Professional League does not encourage violent play and always has strong enough penalties and sanctions for violations. Fortunately, in the first 5 rounds, those responsible for football were secretly happy because the number of penalty cards drawn by referees decreased significantly, which means that beautiful, dedicated football is returning. But if anyone thinks that Vietnamese football has stopped being violent, they are wrong. The evidence is that in just 7 matches in round 6 of the V-League, referees have drawn 36 yellow cards, 5 direct red cards (the number of red cards in round 6 is as many as the total number of red cards in the previous 5 rounds combined) and in just the first match of round 7 between SLNA and Hanoi T&T, the referee also had to draw 1 red card and 6 yellow cards. When reviewing the situations that resulted in red cards, the Vietnamese players all committed "extremely dangerous" violations as assessed by FIFA. For example, in the match between SHB Da Nang and Hai Phong, the referee gave Gomez a red card when the foreign player kicked the defender Van Nhien straight in the shin, or at Hang Day Stadium, striker Samson "elbowed" the defender Dong Nai. Or in the match between SLNA and Hanoi T&T, captain Gonzalo of Hanoi T&T also "elbowed" the defender Manh Hung in the face... It can be said that after only two rounds of matches, the V.League has had an outbreak of penalty cards. If there is no adjustment, the V.League will certainly become a "fighting ring". The Organizing Committee has stepped in and issued "cold" penalties, such as: fined Gomez 10 million VND and suspended him from playing for 3 matches; and fined Samson for 2 matches. But it seems that these penalties are not enough of a deterrent. Not wanting the bad situation to continue, the General Department of Sports and Physical Training, headed by Deputy General Director Pham Van Tuan, signed an official dispatch requesting VFF and VPF to strictly handle violent situations and resolutely eliminate violent behavior on the field.

If based on the number of cards, then currently, after 6 rounds, HAGL is the team that plays the fairest when receiving only 8 yellow cards and no red cards. There are opinions that the referees are "lenient" with HAGL, however, if watching HAGL play, everyone agrees that this team's playing style rarely results in receiving cards. HAGL players use short, quick playing styles to avoid collisions with opponents. The team itself has also shown "fair play" when many players are present in the national U.19 team. But B.Binh Duong is the team that is considered the team that plays the fairest when they have only received 7 yellow cards since the beginning of the tournament. Meanwhile, Khanh Hoa, Thanh Hoa, Hai Phong, Dong Nai have a fairly high number of yellow cards. These are mostly mid-level teams, so sometimes they have to use a tough playing style to destroy the opponent. This shows that the issue of football violence has never cooled down in V.League, even though “football is a game for strong men” as former SLNA coach Nguyen Huu Thang said. But most coaches believe that the referee is the reason for the players to play violently, as stated by coach Phan Thanh Hung (HN T&T) “I know Gonzalo is very gentle, but when he was provoked and committed a foul before and the referee did not blow the whistle for the opponent, our players retaliated”.

That shows that coaches in V.League rarely pay attention to educating their students to play fair and play with dedication. On the contrary, they encourage a rough and tough style of play that is not afraid of collisions to disrupt the opponent's play. In order to avoid the phenomenon of "fighting on the field", in addition to the instructions of the coaches, players must also learn to respect their opponents, as coach Nguyen Van Sy said: "I hope that players need to know how to respect the "rice bowl" of their colleagues...". Only then, maybe we can hope for a V-League that will reduce the problem of violence in the future.

Dai Nghia