Indonesian newspaper criticizes U23 Vietnam for playing dirty, complains about referee

"U23 Indonesia had to accept defeat. The match was exciting from the first half when both teams played with dedication and attack," Bola commented on the 2023 Southeast Asian U23 final. U23 Vietnam defeated U23 Indonesia in a penalty shootout after the two teams drew 0-0 in 2 regular and 2 extra periods.

U23 Vietnam defeated U23 Indonesia.

The Indonesian newspaper said that the home team played well in the final. Like coach Shin Tae-yong, Bola said that the referee's decisions affected the match in a way that was unfavorable to U23 Indonesia, because U23 Vietnam played fiercely.

"The Vietnamese team is known for its aggressive style of play. That was shown in this match, especially in the second extra time. Nguyen Minh Quang deliberately swung his arm at the head of U23 Indonesia left-back Haykal Alhafiz. Unfortunately, the referee did not see U23 Vietnam's foul play. Minh Quang escaped a penalty card," wrote Bola.

Coach Shin Tae-yong also received a yellow card for his reaction to the referee in the second half of the final match. Speaking at a press conference, the Korean coach also criticized the refereeing of the tournament.

"Many referee decisions in this match against U23 Indonesia. This made coach Shin Tae-yong unable to hide his anger," Bola wrote.

U23 Vietnam won the U23 Southeast Asian Championship.

However, the famous Indonesian sports news site also recorded the victory of U23 Vietnam. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team successfully defended the championship title won by the 2022 team - led by coach Dinh The Nam.

"This is the second championship title of U23 Vietnam. They became the team that won the U23 Southeast Asian Championship the most times with 2 trophies. This achievement is even more special when U23 Vietnam did it twice in a row in 2022 and 2023 ," commented Bola newspaper.

The U23 Vietnam team participating in the 2023 Southeast Asian U23 tournament is not the strongest force. Many key players in the SEA Games 32 squad are absent due to being busy playing for their clubs in the final stages of the V-League, First Division season. The coach leading the U23 Vietnam team in this tournament is not coach Philippe Troussier but Mr. Hoang Anh Tuan.

After 4 matches, U23 Vietnam has not shown stability - something often seen in young teams. However, coach Hoang Anh Tuan's students still had a perfect record and only conceded 2 goals in the entire tournament. U23 Vietnam successively defeated U23 Laos, U23 Philippines, U23 Malaysia and U23 Indonesia to successfully defend the championship.

Phuong Mai

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