'The incident that occurred at Quy Nhon Stadium, in addition to the subjective factor of Binh Dinh Club, the behavior of the players and coaching staff of Thanh Hoa Club was also one of the main causes leading to the scuffle on the field', Binh Dinh Sports Joint Stock Company (the company) sent a dispatch to the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) about the incident that occurred in the match between Binh Dinh and Thanh Hoa teams in round 5 of V-League 2023 - 2024 on December 9.

The document also stated that after the match, the company held a meeting with the coaching staff of Binh Dinh Club and had strict discipline and lessons learned with the members involved after the incident.

The company added its opinion: "The referee team's management of the match still has many unreasonable situations, leading to the general public's frustration. Therefore, the company recommends to the VFF, the VFF Disciplinary Board and the tournament organizing committee a number of issues that need to be considered as follows: in the 80th minute, player Rimario (shirt number 11) of Thanh Hoa Club used his elbow to hit the chin of player Marlon (shirt number 3) of the home club, causing player Marlon to bleed from the chin, requiring 6 stitches (with an injury certificate from Binh Dinh General Hospital).

The leadership and coaching staff of Thanh Hoa Club always have behaviors, gestures, and words that show disrespect to the audience, as well as to the coaching staff of the host club. Typically, Thanh Hoa Club officials such as Mr. Vu Hong Quang (doctor), Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dung (assistant coach), Mr. Do Van Phuc (interpreter) received yellow cards and Mr. Duong Tien Ky (doctor) received a red card from the referee. In particular, Mr. Popov Velizar Emilov, the head coach, turned to the home coaching staff and turned to stand A, facing the audience to celebrate the victory in a provocative manner, continuing to cause frustration for everyone (image from live television nationwide).

The incident of player Rimario intentionally hitting someone happened in front of the linesman and the main referee, but the referees did not handle Rimario's behavior appropriately. These decisions of the referees caused frustration for Binh Dinh players as well as protests from the audience. In addition, the management of the match, as well as the referee team's consideration of the extra time of only 5 minutes also caused dissatisfaction, while Thanh Hoa players continuously lay on the field to waste time."

The company said: "We see that the above serious incidents have negatively affected the image of Vietnam's highest football tournament. However, the disciplinary proposal of the tournament organizing committee and the disciplinary action of the VFF Disciplinary Board are not satisfactory with the behavior of player Rimario, the coaching staff and head coach of Thanh Hoa Club, as well as the referee team on duty."

The company requests the tournament organizers and the VFF Disciplinary Board to consider appropriate disciplinary measures against individuals, Thanh Hoa Club, and the referee team to maintain strictness and objectivity.

Previously on December 13, the Disciplinary Board issued a decision: "For Binh Dinh team: warning the entire coaching staff of the team . Fine 30 million VND for the match organizer of Binh Dinh Club. Binh Dinh team has the right to appeal to the VFF Complaints Resolution Board according to the regulations of the VFF Disciplinary Regulations.

Fined 15 million VND, suspended from duty for the next 4 matches for Mr. Bui Vo Viet Tuan - Deputy Head of Binh Dinh Club. Mr. Bui Vo Viet Tuan has the right to appeal to the VFF Complaints Resolution Board according to the regulations of the VFF Disciplinary Regulations.

For Thanh Hoa team: fined 10 million VND, suspended from duty for the next 2 matches for Mr. Duong Tien Ky, club doctor.

Thanh Hoa Club was fined 4 million VND because 7 people were given yellow cards in the match between Binh Dinh Club and Thanh Hoa Club on December 9.