Vietnam U21 women's volleyball team was severely disciplined, stripped of ticket to round of 16 of world tournament; MU's dream team with 2 new players worth 150 million euros

Vietnam U21 women's volleyball team severely disciplined, stripped of ticket to round of 16 of world tournament

The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) made a special announcement about a violation by a Vietnamese athlete at the 2025 Women's U21 Volleyball World Cup.

On the night of August 12 (Vietnam time), the FIVB homepage announced disciplinary action against the Vietnam U21 women's team for using players who were not eligible to compete in the tournament.

“Following concerns that the Vietnam Volleyball Federation fielded an ineligible player in the national U21 team at the FIVB Women’s U21 World Championship 2025 in Indonesia, the FIVB has initiated an investigation in accordance with its regulations. The investigation determined that the player is ineligible under Article 12.2 of the FIVB Disciplinary Regulations 2023,” the FIVB website said.

FIVB added: “Based on Article 13.5.2 of the Competition Regulations and Article 14.4 of the Disciplinary Regulations, the FIVB Disciplinary Subcommittee has decided that the matches in which this athlete participated in the Vietnam team will be considered a loss and the athlete will be immediately disqualified from the Competition.”

The matches in which Vietnam U21 won Indonesia 3-0, Serbia 3-1, Canada 3-1 and lost to Argentina 1-3 were annulled and Vietnam U21 was declared a 0-3 loss. The match in which Vietnam U21 won Puerto Rico 3-1 on the afternoon of August 12 was kept as is.

The FIVB website has not yet announced who the Vietnamese athlete is that is not eligible to participate in the tournament. However, FIVB has confirmed that the matches of the Vietnamese women's U21 volleyball team at the U21 women's world tournament that this athlete participates in will be considered a loss.

FIVB said that further sanctions may be applied: “In accordance with Article 14.4 of the Disciplinary Regulations and taking into account the circumstances of the case, the FIVB Disciplinary Sub-Committee will refer the file to the FIVB Disciplinary Board for further assessment of possible sanctions outside the scope of the Competition. At that stage, the Vietnam Volleyball Federation and the player will be invited to submit their comments in writing. FIVB will have no further comment on the case during the proceedings.”

According to the match schedule announced by FIVB on the evening of August 12, the Vietnam U21 women's volleyball team will play a qualifying match with the Egypt U21 women's volleyball team at 1:00 p.m. on August 13.

According to the tournament's home page rankings, the Vietnam U21 women's team has fallen from second place in Group A to 6th place with 3 points. The top 4 teams in this group are U21 Argentina, U21 Serbia, U21 Indonesia and U21 Puerto Rico, respectively, and have won tickets to the round of 16.

PVF-CAND recruits naturalized player with most goals in V.League history

On the afternoon of August 12, PVF-CAND club held a departure ceremony to participate in the V.League and National Cup season 2025/2026.

In the list of registered players, Hoang Vu Samson is a surprising name. He is the player who has scored the most goals in the history of V.League. By the end of this season, Samson has scored 221 goals in the highest tournament of Vietnamese football.

In addition, they also have the services of Amarildo - striker of The Cong Viettel, central defender Alain - from Quang Nam Club and rookie striker Joseph Jaylon and veteran player Joseph Mpande.

Speaking at the ceremony, Major General Le Van - Chairman of PVF-CAND Club shared: "PVF CAND is the only unit in the Vietnamese football system with 2 teams participating in the 2025-2026 season, which is the national championship - V.League and the National First Division. Participation in V.League this year is quite urgent, only 8 days, but with the attention and close direction of the Minister, the team has urgently prepared to ensure the best results for the team.

The upcoming season promises many challenges, but I believe that with careful preparation, PVF-CAND will play with a spirit of effort, each player will enter the field with a passionate heart, bringing the most attractive matches. I promise that the team will aim for a successful season, compete with all their might, and maintain the noble spirit of sportsmanship."

Meanwhile, coach Thach Bao Khanh said that participating in V.League opens up new opportunities, but also poses great challenges. With only nearly 3 weeks of preparation, PVF-CAND has made thorough preparations in terms of physical strength, tactics and spirit.

In the opening match of V.League 2025-2026, PVF-CAND club will host Song Lam Nghe An at home on August 17.

"Blockbuster" Sesko wears strange shirt number at Man Utd

Manchester United have just announced that new signing Benjamin Sesko will wear the unusual number 30 shirt at Old Trafford.

Sesko was introduced to the fans at Old Trafford in a friendly match against Fiorentina last week. Before him, Matheus Cunha, Diego Leon and Bryan Mbeumo were also introduced: Cunha took the number 10 shirt, Mbeumo wore the number 19, and Leon switched from number 30 to number 35 to make way for Sesko.

At Old Trafford, the number 30 is unfamiliar and does not leave much of an impression (Wes Brown or John O'Shea used to wear it). However, 30 is the number that has been associated with Sesko's career. Specifically, he used this number when playing for RB Salzburg and RB Leipzig, scoring a total of 68 goals in 166 matches.

Sesko used to wear the number 21 shirt at FC Liefering and number 11 at the Slovenia national team. However, he decided to stick with the number 30 at MU, a choice that is both habitual and contains spiritual value.

With his "lucky" shirt number and great ambition, Sesko promises to bring a new breath of life to MU's attack. Fans at Old Trafford are waiting for his official debut - where the story of the number 30 shirt can open a new chapter of success at the Theatre of Dreams.

MU's dream team with 2 new players worth 150 million euros

MU's summer transfer window is not yet over as coach Amorim wants to add another quality midfielder.

Despite spending more than 200 million euros to welcome 3 new players including Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, Man Utd still plans to bring to Old Trafford a few more quality players, especially in the midfield, where Casemiro has lost his form and Manuel Ugarte does not meet professional requirements.

According to British media, Carlos Baleba is the next name that the "Red Devils" are targeting. The young Cameroonian midfielder is said to have agreed to join MU. However, the current Europa League runner-up has not yet been able to agree on a transfer fee with Brighton.

MU's first offer, including money and young talent Toby Collyer, was rejected. Brighton highly appreciated Baleba's potential and announced that they would only let the player leave if they received 120 million euros, the highest fee in Old Trafford history.

In addition, MU is also rumored to be eyeing Gianluigi Donnarumma. PSG removed the 1999-born goalkeeper from their plans because he refused to reduce his salary.

Although only 26 years old, Donnarumma has many years of experience playing at the top level. Last season, the former AC Milan star was the hero who brought the capital team to the Champions League title. Currently, PSG is offering 30 million euros for the Italian goalkeeper.

If they can sell Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, and Tyrell Malacia, MU can earn a large sum of money, from which they can reinvest in contracts that suit coach Ruben Amorim's philosophy.