Two referees refused to officiate the return match between Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Hanoi FC.

This match will take place on the afternoon of May 15 at Hang Day Stadium. The first leg match between the two teams in Pleiku ended in a 2-2 draw with heated events both on and off the field.

Believing that referee Ngo Duy Lan was biased towards the home team, the coaching staff of Hanoi FC reacted very strongly, especially after midfielder Pham Thanh Luong was given a red card. Head coach of Hanoi FC Chu Dinh Nghiem was also dismissed for reacting to the referee. Mr. Nghiem later had a collision with a young referee on the tunnel leading to the field.

As of this morning, the VFF Referee Board has not yet assigned any referees to officiate the return match at Hang Day Stadium between the two teams. The reason is that the referees are worried that they may encounter problems while officiating the match. The VFF Referee Board has assigned two FIFA-level referees but both have refused.

“Anh Duc (HAGL Chairman Doan Nguyen Duc) criticized the referees too much, the referees were all afraid to officiate HAGL matches. The recent match between HAGL and Hanoi FC was too heated so everyone was very afraid” - a member of the VFF Referee Board shared.

Midfielder Pham Thanh Luong's red card created a very tense incident at Pleiku Stadium on May 11.

Evaluating the refereeing of the HAGL-Hanoi Club match on May 11, the Referee Board said that Mr. Lan basically completed his task well.

“It is just unfortunate that Thanh Luong was given a yellow card. In that situation, the collision between Thanh Luong and Van Thanh was not serious. Thanh Luong's reaction was not excessive, but the red card he received afterwards was correct because Luong overreacted. We do not think the referee was wrong, but the initial yellow card was unnecessary. If it had not been for that situation, the match would have ended very well,” said the member of the Referee Board.

According to this person, Mr. Duc's excessive criticism of referees has not only made referees reluctant to officiate matches involving HAGL, but other teams themselves may be "incited" that the referees favor Mr. Duc's team. "In the case of Thanh Luong, I think that if Hanoi FC's opponent was not HAGL, people probably would not have reacted so strongly. To be honest, we are working very tensely right now. Referee errors are everywhere, but in our country it is very easy to get severely punished" - the same person said.

In the second leg at Hang Day Stadium, the home team Hanoi FC will not have the service of Pham Thanh Luong. The away team HAGL, meanwhile, will have the strongest force with names such as Cong Phuong, Xuan Truong, Van Thanh... HAGL's hopes also rest on Cong Phuong, who has now scored 4 goals in the National Cup - White Lion 2018.

Nguyen Phong