Hai Phong FC fan receives three-year ban for attacking referee

The decision was made by Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) on Thursday evening. Dung will not be allowed to attend any game organized by Vietnam Professional Football JSC (VPF), including the V. League 1, V. League 2 and National Cup during his ban.

Hai Phong FC were fined VND70 million ($2,990) for loose security and lack of stadium safety in their home ground game. Hai Phong will also have to play without supporters when they face SHB Da Nang on Aug. 5.

On Tuesday night, when referee Ha was working with the supervisor after the game, Dung insulted, spat in his face and threatened to assault him.

Dung was not happy with Ha’s calls during the match, especially in not giving his team a penalty in the 76th minute when the ball hit the hand of a Binh Dinh player. However, it was not intentional, so Ha’s decision was correct. Hai Phong eventually won Binh Dinh FC 3-1.

A day later, Dung admitted he was wrong to lose his temper so he called Ha to apologize and offered to redeem himself.

Dung is a notorious Hai Phong FC fan, nicknamed “flare tycoon.” He had assaulted referee Vo Minh Tri earlier and received a 18-month suspended prison sentence in 2012. He used to work for Hai Phong FC as pitch manager but was let off at the beginning of this season. After leaving the club, he still kept a close relationship with officials and often attends games.