Rabid Vietnamese football fans threw stones through the windows of a bus carrying a victorious Indonesian football squad to their hotel in Hanoi on Wednesday evening.
The assault took place while the Indonesia team was leaving My Dinh Stadium following the end of the second semi-final match of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup.
The Football Association of Indonesia said a doctor and assistant coach were injured when extreme fans threw rocks through the bus windows. They have reported the incident to the AFF authorities.
Stones thrown by fans flew through the bus windows during the attack. |
Shards of glass cut an Indonesian player. |
Following the attack, the bus returned to My Dinh Stadium.
The Vietnam Football Federation arranged for doctors to care for the two injured Indonesians, provided a replacement bus and additional security to escort them back to their hotel.
Vietnam and Indonesia drew 2-2 in the second leg of the Suzuki Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
Tensions ran high in the stadium during the close match as the Indonesian squad had already beaten Vietnam 2-1, at home, during the first leg of the semi-finals.
During the 76th minute of Wednesday's match, a Chinese referee red-carded Vietnam's goalkeeper for elbowing an Indonesian player in the head.
Vietnam went on to score without him, bringing the aggregate score to a draw and sending the match into overtime.
Indonesia ultimately triumphed in a penalty kick and will either face Thailand or Myanmar in a final match on December 14.
The ASEAN Football Championship, founded by the ASEAN Football Federation in 1996, is a biennial football competition for national teams of Southeast Asia. Since 2008, Japanese auto-company Suzuki has sponsored the competition, which is called the AFF Suzuki Cup.
Vietnam won the AFF Suzuki Cup in 2008; Indonesia has lost in the finals four times between 2000 and 2010.
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