The incident occurred in the 54th minute of the match at Lach Tray stadium on the evening of 23/8. Just before Trieu Viet Hung took a corner kick from the right, Joseph Mpande elbowed Imoh Friday in the head inside the PVF-CAND penalty area.

Referee Tran The Anh consulted VAR and reviewed the video for about 5 minutes before deciding to show Mpande a straight red card. However, he did not award a penalty to Hai Phong.

PVF-CAND midfielder Joseph Mpande (right red shirt) elbows Imoh Friday in the head during the 1-3 loss to Hai Phong in round 2 of the 2025-2026 V-League, at Lach Tray Stadium, Hai Phong on 23/8/2025. Photo: Screenshot

The referee applied Law 12 of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) regarding fouls and misconduct. Accordingly, a red card in the penalty area does not automatically result in a penalty kick. The referee must assess whether the foul denied a clear goal-scoring opportunity, as well as the severity of the foul. In the match at Lach Tray, Mpande committed a violent foul but did not prevent Friday from scoring, so only a red card was given and no penalty was awarded to the home team.

A similar situation occurred in the match at Ninh Binh stadium at the same time. In the 38th minute, inside the Thanh Hoa penalty area, Rimario pushed Patrick Marcelino of Ninh Binh in the chest. Referee Hoang Ngoc Ha also determined that Rimario committed a foul worthy of a yellow card, but as it did not prevent the opponent from having a scoring opportunity, the away team avoided a penalty.

After both winning their opening matches, the two V-League newcomers, Ninh Binh and PVF-CAND, had contrasting results in the second round. PVF-CAND lost 1-3 to Hai Phong, while Ninh Binh won 4-0 against Thanh Hoa.

At Lach Tray stadium, PVF-CAND opened the scoring in the 29th minute. From a right corner kick, almost 2-meter-tall center-back Alain Eyenga scored. This was the away team's only shot on target in the first half.

In the second half, Mpande's red card caused PVF-CAND to lose their defensive counter-attacking strategy. They conceded a goal in the 84th minute after a quick shot by Imoh Friday inside the penalty area. Three minutes later, 1.73m-tall Trieu Viet Hung beat center-back Doan Anh Viet in the box to head the ball into the net, making it 2-1. In the second minute of added time, Nguyen Huu Nam's shot from inside the box found the back of the net past goalkeeper Phi Minh Long, sealing a 3-1 victory for Hai Phong.

Ninh Binh striker Gustavo Henrique (center) scored a brace to help the team beat Thanh Hoa 4-0 in round 2 of the 2025-2026 V-League, at Ninh Binh stadium on 23/8/2025. Photo: VPF

Meanwhile, Ninh Binh's stadium was nearly full of spectators cheering on the home team. Hoang Duc and his teammates dominated the match and scored four goals, with strikers Daniel Anjos and Gustavo Henrique each scoring twice.

Towards the end of the match, Rimario calmly controlled the ball outside the box before unleashing a left-footed shot that beat goalkeeper Dang Van Lam. However, after consulting VAR, referee Hoang Ngoc Ha disallowed the goal because Doan Ngoc Tan had earlier committed a high-foot foul while challenging Duc Chien.

The victory puts Ninh Binh at the top of the V-League with 6 points, two points ahead of The Cong. Meanwhile, PVF-CAND and Hai Phong have 3 points each, while Thanh Hoa are at the bottom with one point.

Hieu Luong