Controversy over water bottles in Vietnam's U23 win against Indonesia

Indonesia claimed Vietnam's coaching staff deliberately scattered water bottles to hinder a long throw-in, but coach Kim Sang-sik denied the accusation.

While the referee was conferring with the Indonesian side, one of Kim's assistants placed more water bottles near the sideline in front of Vietnam's technical area.

Tension flared in the final minutes of stoppage time during the Vietnam-Indonesia U23 Southeast Asian Championship final on 29/7.

Coach Kim received a yellow card. He appeared to react to the referees allowing stoppage time to exceed the announced 5 minutes and seemed to impede an Indonesian player from taking a throw-in.

This placement somewhat hampered Robi Darwis's throw-in run-up. The Indonesian player reacted to Vietnam's doctor and complained to coach Kim, who only offered a wry smile.

Seeing this, assistant coach Damian Van Rensburg immediately ran over, collected, and tossed some water bottles aside to clear the way for his player.

This unauthorized entry into the opposing team's technical area resulted in Van Rensburg receiving a direct red card from referee Koji Takasaki.

Head coach Gerald Vanenburg approached the referee to complain about the decisions, but no further incidents occurred.

Darwis couldn't execute his intended throw-in directly into Vietnam's penalty area. Instead, he redirected it to goalkeeper Muhammad Ardiansyah, who then made a long clearance easily handled by Vietnamese goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien. The referee then blew the final whistle.

After the match, Indonesian media accused Kim of "unsportsmanlike conduct," citing aggressive actions, including the water bottle incident.

In response, Kim explained, "The weather was hot, we arranged the water bottles so the players could drink. There was no other purpose."

Kim Sang-sik signed with the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) on 6/5/2024. Eight months later, he led Vietnam to victory in the 2024 ASEAN Cup, notably defeating Thailand in both legs of the final.

With yesterday's 1-0 win over Indonesia, the 48-year-old coach secured Vietnam's third consecutive U23 Southeast Asian Championship title.