FIFA fines national team for World Cup qualifiers bookings

By Lam Thoa January 11, 2022 | 02:30 am PT

Nguyen Cong Phuong receives a yellow card in the World Cup qualifiers game between Vietnam and Saudi Arabia on November 16, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Lam Thoa

Vietnam Football Federation will have to pay CHF6,000 ($6,482) after six Vietnam players got booked in the World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia.

In the home game of Vietnam at My Dinh National Stadium on Nov. 16, 2021, referee Hattab Hanna handed yellow cards to six Vietnam players: Que Ngoc Hai, Nguyen Cong Phuong, Nguyen Tuan Anh, Nguyen Thanh Chung, Nguyen Van Toan and Phan Van Duc.

According to FIFA regulations, a national team will be fined if they receive over five yellow cards in a game.

The fine was given in a FIFA statement. Other teams that received similar penalties are Andorra, Azerbaijan, Moldova and Serbia. More than 40 football federations worldwide have been fined for other fouls like reacting, stalling and bad organization.

This is the first time Vietnam appears in the final round of World Cup qualifiers. The Golden Dragons are last in group B after losing all six games so far.

On Jan. 13, the team will return to training. They will play an away game with Australia on Jan. 27. Defender Que Ngoc Hai and midfielder Nguyen Tuan Anh will be suspended for this game since they received too many yellow cards in previous games. After that, Vietnam will take on China in My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi on Feb. 1.