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The penalty was imposed Tuesday by Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), with Hong Linh Ha Tinh required to pay VND15 million ($646).
"This is a warning fine because even though Ha Tinh let fans disrupt the match due to overcrowding, security ensured nothing serious happened. Referees and players of both clubs were all safe," said VFF Disciplinary Department Head Vu Xuan Thanh.
In the game between Ha Tinh and Hanoi of V. League 1’s fourth fixture, the organzier only sold 10,000 out of 16,000 tickets for safety reasons during Covid-19, but when the match started, all stadium seats were filled. In the 20th minute, stand B was overloaded with spectators, spilling over the sideline, forcing security to take action.
The game was disrupted for 20 minutes. The final result was 1-1.
"The game was disrupted for less then 30 minutes so Ha Tinh did not suffer a default 0-3 loss according to regulations. However, we have to remind Ha Tinh to do better at security next time. This is their first time playing in V. League 1 so they didn’t have the experience," Thanh said.
Chairman of Vietnam Professional Football (VPF) JSC Tran Anh Tu said overloading occurred because stadium staff had let their family members in and some fans entered with fake tickets.
Previously, Thien Truong Stadium in the northern province of Nam Dinh, where football marked its return after Vietnam contained Covid-19, was also fined $646 for spectator intimidation, fans pelting the field with water bottles and choice expletives after the referee red carded the host during a V. League 1 game on June 5.
Vietnam's competitive football returned on May 23, after a more than two-month break due to Covid-19.
