Young fan suffers firework burns during football match

In the 34th minute, Nguyen Huu Son converted a penalty and equalized 1-1 for Hai Phong. After that, Hai Phong fans in stand B lit up flares and fireworks to celebrate. Security immediately appeared to control the situation.

Suddenly, a firework was thrown directly at a police officer who then put it out using his foot. Accidentally, a spark shot up that hit a young fan.

After receiving medical first aid at the stadium, this fan was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital. The boy had a mild injury with a 1% second-degree burn on his left thigh.

Hai Phong fans flare up during the V. League game between Hanoi FC and Hai Phong FC on August 2, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Hieu Luong

Hai Phong fans also ignited about seven flares, mostly before the match. Hai Phong FC chairman Van Tran Hoan had to come and ask fans not to use the flares.

With this incident, the organizers of Hang Day Stadium will almost certainly receive a penalty from the Vietnam Football Federation.

After the match, Hai Phong FC coach Chu Dinh Nghiem confirmed that flares were not safe.

"Everybody should follow the no-flare rule," he said. "Hai Phong fans used flares and that affected many people and the image of the club."

Flares often appear at Hang Day Stadium when the hosts Hanoi play Hai Phong and recently Nam Dinh FC, although the stadium organizers tried to prevent it.

In the 2019 V. League, during a game between Hanoi and Nam Dinh match, a female fan suffered a serious thigh injury due to a flare fired by Nam Dinh fans. The man who fired the flare was later prosecuted and sentenced to four years in prison.

This season, Hanoi was fined VND20 million (US$842) for letting Nam Dinh fans set off flares during a game at Hang Day.

In another game with Nam Dinh recently, Hanoi was fined VND25 million when the away fans threw water bottles onto the field and insulted the referee.