The surprising truth about Coach Kim Sang Sik not calling Dinh Bac to the Vietnam national team

Even though he was not called up to the Vietnam national team, Dinh Bac can still have his suspension sentence counted, in the context that many opinions previously argued the player must be on the national team list to receive a sentence reduction.

The FIFA Days March training camp of the Vietnam national team under Coach Kim Sang Sik drew attention when striker Nguyen Dinh Bac did not appear in the preliminary list. However, behind this decision, a noteworthy detail emerged related to the disciplinary penalty the 2004-born player just received from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Previously, Dinh Bac was suspended for 2 matches following a red card in the Third-place match between Vietnam U23 and South Korea U23 at the 2026 AFC U23 Championship. Besides the playing ban, the Hanoi Police striker also had to pay a $1,000 fine for a dangerous studs-up challenge on an opponent.

According to the initial regulation, this suspension must be served in the subsequent matches within the AFC U23 competition system. However, because Dinh Bac is now overage for future U23 tournaments, the penalty was transferred to the national team level. This led many to believe he might miss an important match of the Vietnam national team.

Nevertheless, the special point lies in AFC's disciplinary regulations. According to reputable domestic sports media, even if a player is not called up and does not play, the suspension is still counted as served if that player's national team participates in an official match within the competition system. This is the detail that makes Dinh Bac's case particularly noteworthy.

With this regulation, the match between the Vietnam national team and the Malaysia national team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers could help the 22-year-old striker "clear" part of his penalty. Even if not on the match roster, he is still considered to have served 1 match suspension after the Vietnam national team completes this official match.

That means Dinh Bac only has to serve one more suspension match at the national team level. If called up for upcoming tournaments, he is likely to miss one match at the 2026 AFF Southeast Asian Championship scheduled for late July.

Dinh Bac's case is quite similar to a precedent involving goalkeeper Quan Van Chuan. This goalkeeper also received a 2-match suspension after a red card at the 2022 AFC U23 Championship. Even though he was not called up for some subsequent matches, his penalty was still counted according to AFC regulations before being fully cleared in the next competition cycle.