Indonesia advised to leave the Southeast Asian Football Federation

According to Madura United Club President Achsanul Qosasi, if the AFF does not fine U23 Vietnam defender Nguyen Hong Phuc, Indonesia should stop participating in Southeast Asian tournaments.

In the 113th minute of the U23 Southeast Asian final on August 26, defenders Haykal Alhafiz and Hong Phuc both rushed to fight for the ball on the sideline. Hong Phuc cleared the ball, then jumped up to avoid his opponent raising his leg. But as he fell, the Vietnamese defender swung his arm back and hit Haykal in the face. The Indonesian player was in pain, had to be treated by a doctor and went off the field to rest for a while before returning to play.

A situation where defender Nguyen Hong Phuc (number 20) lost the ball at the U23 Southeast Asian final in Rayong, Thailand on the evening of August 26, 2023. Photo: Lam Thoa — A situation where defender Nguyen Hong Phuc (number 20) lost the ball at the U23 Southeast Asian final in Rayong, Thailand on the evening of August 26, 2023. Photo: *Lam Thoa*

Japanese referee Hiroki Kasahara did not penalize Hong Phuc for his actions, but many viewers believed that the 20-year-old defender had deliberately played dirty. Mr. Qosasi is the chairman of Madura United - the club that contributed a player to Indonesia in the tournament. After the match, he wrote on Instagram : "If Hong Phuc is not fined by the AFF, Indonesia needs to speak up and consider suspending participation in Southeast Asian tournaments. After hitting Haykal in the face, he should have come to apologize and show respect."

Indonesians were also angry with Hong Phuc's behavior, so they flocked to the defender's Instagram account to insult him. Hong Phuc's most recent photo had 35,000 comments from Indonesian accounts, causing his account to no longer be found on social media.

A few minutes later, Haykal also rushed in and kicked striker Nguyen Dang Duong in retaliation. This time the referee blew the whistle and gave Haykal a yellow card. Mr. Kasahara had to give eight yellow cards in this match, three for Vietnam and five for Indonesia.

The situation where Nguyen Hong Phuc hit Haykal coldly — The situation where Nguyen Hong Phuc hit Haykal.

The final match also had many situations of foul play and retaliation, but no goals were scored. The two teams had to take penalties, and the result was decided in the sixth round, when goalkeeper Ernando Ari's kick was pushed out by his colleague Quan Van Chuan. Then, 18-year-old midfielder Thai Ba Dat scored to seal the 6-5 victory, helping Vietnam become the first team to defend the U23 Southeast Asian championship.

Indonesia also considered leaving the AFF, at the U19 Southeast Asian tournament in Jakarta in July 2022. The reason was that they were dissatisfied with the way Vietnam and Thailand played without sportsmanship in the final round of the group stage, leading to a draw and reaching the semi-finals while the host was eliminated. The Indonesian Football Federation at that time also complained to the AFF, even considering the possibility of leaving Southeast Asian football to become a member of the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF).

Hoang An

Source link