Vietnam breathed a sigh of relief after a goalless draw with Indonesia in the first leg of the AFF Cup semifinal on Friday at Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.
However, Vietnam head coach Park Hang-seo was compelled to intervene when defender Doan Van Hau complained to the referee after the match.
Indonesian striker Saddil Ramdani elbowed Van Hau in the face when he jumped up to fight for the ball in the fifth minute of injury time.
Van Hau’s mouth was bleeding but there was no free kick situation for Vietnam. The referee then blew the whistle at the end of time, closing the match at Bung Karno Stadium with a score of 0-0.
Van Hau went to the fourth referee to complain about being hit in the face after being dissatisfied with the referee’s decision.
“Football has collisions. Van Hau has improved a lot,” Coach Park then answered in a press conference about the collision situations of his players with Indonesian players.
Park then appointed doctor Choi Ju-young to bring Van Hau to the ground to greet the crowd, preventing him from continuing to argue with the referee.
Van Hau once entered the ball and injured Evan Dimas in the 31st SEA Games final and then scored a brace, helping Vietnam win 3-0 and win the gold medal.
The defender has many successful air battles, helping goalkeeper Dang Van Lam maintain a clean sheet record at the AFF Cup 2022.
With this result, the Indonesian national team remains at the top of the Group B standings with 7 points from three matches. Evan et al are ahead on goal difference from Vietnam (7 points).
Meanwhile, Malaysia (6 points) is in third position. Followed by Cambodia (3 points) and Laos (0 points).
Indonesia now face a tougher task to overcome the Golden Star Warriors in the return leg at the My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi on Monday.
