OFFICIAL: Đình Bắc receives penalty from the Asian Football Confederation

The AFC's punishment for Nguyễn Đình Bắc extends beyond youth tournaments and is expected to impact the Vietnam national team's fixtures in the near future.

According to the latest announcement from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Nguyễn Đình Bắc will be suspended for 2 matches following a red card in the third-place playoff between Vietnam U23 and South Korea U23 at the 2026 AFC U23 Championship. This penalty includes an automatic one-match ban due to the sending-off and an additional suspension as decided by the AFC. Furthermore, the 2004-born striker must pay a fine of 1,000 USD (approximately 26 million VND) within 30 days from the issuance of the decision.

Notably, the AFC also clarified the disciplinary carry-over mechanism: if a player is ineligible to participate in the current tournament, the suspension will be applied to the next official match at the national team level according to the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee’s regulations. In Đình Bắc’s case, this is highly likely since he is overage for the next AFC U23 Championship edition. In other words, the suspension will probably be enforced during matches at the senior national team level.

If the carry-over rule is applied, Đình Bắc will miss Vietnam’s match against Malaysia in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers (scheduled at 19:15 on March 31). Additionally, when the Vietnam national team competes in the 2026 ASEAN Cup, the Công An Hà Nội striker will also be ineligible to be registered for matches falling within the suspension period.

Not only Đình Bắc individually, but the AFC also imposed a penalty on the team. Due to “Misconduct by team” during the U22 Vietnam vs U22 Thailand match at SEA Games 33, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) was fined 1,500 USD and must complete payment within 30 days of receiving the decision.

This sanction is purely financial, without any bans or point deductions, but it serves as a clear reminder that the AFC is tightening discipline, even in regional tournaments. This is a lesson that both the Vietnam Football Federation and Đình Bắc must deeply learn from and avoid repeating.