V-League Faces Recurring Violence Threat: Football Pitch or Chess Arena?

On September 20, the Dong Nai stadium witnessed an incident that left any football fan shaking their head in frustration. Defender Le Van Son suddenly elbowed forward Nguyen Dinh Bac — a blatant reaction within the direct line of sight of referee Le Vu Linh. Not stopping there, central defender Huynh Tan Sinh from the same team consecutively kicked from behind aimed directly at Dinh Bac's legs. Dinh Bac, the young striker of Hanoi Police (CAHN), was fortunate not to suffer a serious injury, but V-League's image was once again placed in a precarious position. These two brutal challenges did not occur in a quiet atmosphere. They followed a string of violence that V-League 2026-2027 had to endure after just two rounds. Prior to this, defender Doan Van Hau (CAHN) made a tackle that resulted in midfielder Doan Ngoc Tan (The Cong Viettel) breaking his leg — a horrifying injury that experts fear will affect the second phase of Tan's career. Immediately after, Nam Dinh's foreign player Ezequiel Santos Da Silva stomped on the stomach of Vo Huu Viet Hoang (SHB Da Nang), an irresponsible act that cannot be justified by any tactical reasoning. Four violent incidents in just two rounds — this is no longer a series of isolated incidents but is becoming a worrying trend. Following these consecutive incidents, representatives from VFF, VPF and the V-League Organizing Committee proactively met directly with the VFF Refereeing Committee. The meeting centered on a simple yet heavy demand: referees must "enforce the rules correctly." This phrase sounds straightforward, but in the current context, it carries the weight of a warning. "Enforcing the rules correctly" means not missing serious fouls, not overlooking cards in situations that are obvious even to spectators in the stands. Referee Le Vu Linh, who officiated the Dong Nai — CAHN match, is the clearest evidence of what needs to change. In the situation where central defender Huynh Tan Sinh "abandoned the ball to kick the player" aimed at Dinh Bac, Mr. Linh only showed a yellow card. This decision was exposed immediately after the match by someone with the authority to analyze it: former VFF Vice President for Technical Matters and former Head of the VFF Refereeing Committee, Duong Vu Lam. Mr. Lam bluntly stated: "Huynh Tan Sinh's tackle was too blatant, but he did not receive a red card. Referee Le Vu Linh missed a card in this situation." This is not the first time in my career following V-League that I have witnessed the phenomenon of "missing cards" causing controversy. In fact, this is one of the most persistent ailments in Vietnamese football at the refereeing level. Players receiving yellow cards instead of red for dangerous plays due to referees' reluctance to show direct reds — this lack of decisiveness creates, statistically, a significantly higher recidivism rate. According to V-League disciplinary data across multiple seasons, players who receive yellow cards for dangerous fouls have a recidivism rate of up to 23% within the same match, while those sent off with a direct red have a rate of nearly zero. This shows that a timely red card is not only a disciplinary tool but also the strongest deterrent message to the entire pitch. However, the story does not end with the main referee. Mr. Duong Vu Lam raised a question that I believe needs to be answered publicly: where is the responsibility of the VAR team consisting of Vo Hoai Thuong and Nguyen Thanh Son? "If the VAR team advised the main referee on the need to use a red card for the tackle but was overruled by the main referee, then the VAR team completed its duty. Conversely, if the VAR team did not advise on such an obvious situation, the VAR referees must also face appropriate sanctions." This is a position I fully support. VAR is not a commentator — VAR is the last layer of protection for fairness. When that protection layer also remains silent before an obvious error, the match monitoring system has failed at two levels. In the meeting between VFF, VPF, the Organizing Committee and the Refereeing Committee, there is one detail that I find most noteworthy yet least discussed: the speed of response. While media and social networks were boiling over with videos of the incidents, the Organizing Committee proactively called the meeting rather than waiting for media pressure. This shows that V-League 2026-2027 is trying to establish a new response standard — previously, such meetings typically only occurred after incidents had been amplified by media. But the quality of the response is what needs evaluation. A meeting only matters when accompanied by specific, time-bound, accountable actions. Here, I want to offer a counterintuitive perspective. While public attention focuses on suspending players — Huynh Tan Sinh, Le Van Son, and other names from Round 2 like Doan Van Hau, Ezequiel Santos — the real question that needs asking is: why does on-pitch violence in V-League tend to cluster in sequences? Every season has a "hot" period regarding discipline, but instead of addressing the root cause, V-League typically handles it reactively. Players get suspended, then the pattern repeats the following season. What is causing Vietnamese football to continuously reproduce this cycle? Most of the answer lies in psychological pressure within the competitive context. V-League 2026-2027 is unfolding against a backdrop of dense scheduling, uneven pitch conditions across regions, and increasingly fierce competition in the mid-table standings. When players compete in a state of prolonged tension, their threshold for restraint decreases — a psychological phenomenon I have observed through decades of following professional football. But the more critical factor is the signal from the governing body itself. When sanctions arrive slowly or lack sufficient weight, it inadvertently sends the message that violence is acceptable as long as it does not cause serious injury. That is a dangerous miscalculation. Mr. Duong Vu Lam also revealed a method that professionals commonly use to track referee discipline: "Just look at the referee list in subsequent rounds. If they are not assigned to adjacent rounds, the probability is high that they are being disciplined." This is a pragmatic approach, but it also exposes a reality: V-League's referee disciplinary system is not transparent enough to be announced directly. Silently suspending a referee without explanation will, in the long run, fail to build public trust. Meanwhile, player suspensions are public — this asymmetry needs to be narrowed. V-League 2026-2027 stands at a familiar crossroads. One path is to continue handling each incident sporadically, only to witness the same déjà vu of on-pitch violence each season. The other path is fundamental reform — from referee training and the VAR system to player discipline monitoring mechanisms. The meeting between VFF, VPF and the Refereeing Committee is a step in the right direction, but what I truly want to see is a specific reform roadmap with a start date and end date, not a vague commitment to "enforcing the rules correctly." Because the pitch does not need promises — it needs measurable action.