Hanoi FC run out of goalkeepers, V. League match postponed

Hanoi FC director Nguyen Quoc Tuan told VnExpress on Monday that the club had 11 Covid-19 cases in the squad, including all of their four goalkeepers. National keeper Bui Tan Truong tested positive for Covid last week, then second keeper Nguyen Van Cong a day later. On Monday, their remaning two young keepers Nguyen Ba Minh Hieu and Quan Van Chuan were infected.

Aside from the keepers, other key players were also absent due to Covid. Hanoi had subsequently reported the situation to the organizers and their request to postpone the match was approved. According to the league regulation, a game will be postponed if one of the two teams don’t have a keeper to play.

In the first round last week, Hanoi didn’t play either since their opponent Thanh Hoa FC had also run out of goalkeepers.

To deal with Covid-19, the organizers allow each club to register 35 players for the league, five more than last season. Before each game, the clubs will register 20 players and test them for Covid-19. If a club doesn’t have 14 players for a game, it will be postponed.