Unprecedented 'rain' of red cards at the 2024 AFC U23 Championship finals

Although only the first round of group stage matches (8 matches) has ended, the 2024 U23 Asia has had 7 red cards issued. In particular, the match between U23 Vietnam and U23 Kuwait last night (April 17) had 2 red cards issued by the referee. This tournament has never had such an explosion of penalty cards.

The sudden increase in red cards shows the inexperience and lack of control of fouls by young players. In addition, stricter referees and the application of VAR also make it difficult for players to escape serious fouls.

Ngoc Thang received a red card.

Up to now, after the first round of matches in the group stage, 7 players have been sent off by the referee. They are Danial Afaneh (Jordan), Ivar Jenner (Indonesia), Ramadhan Sananta (Indonesia), Ryuya Nishio (Japan), Nihad Mohammed (Iraq), Abdulrahman Kameel (Kuwait) and Nguyen Ngoc Thang (Vietnam).

Among the teams that had players receive red cards and played with fewer players, Jordan drew with Australia, Japan beat China, and the rest all lost. In the match between U23 Vietnam and U23 Kuwait last night, both teams had players receive red cards and had to play with 10 players. U23 Vietnam won 3-1 in the end.

The red card shower of the 2024 AFC U23 Championship began right from the opening match between host U23 Qatar and U23 Indonesia. The referee showed two red cards to U23 Indonesia. Coach Shin Tae-yong was not satisfied with this decision, he thought the referee was unfair to the team and made unfair decisions. The Indonesian Football Federation sent a complaint to the AFC.

U23 Vietnam was not far behind the team in the same region when Nguyen Ngoc Thang received a red card in the first half's extra time.

This was also the first match of the tournament where both teams had players sent off in the first half, both with straight red cards. The Kuwait U23 player was sent off for a rough foul. Meanwhile, Ngoc Thang of Vietnam U23 was penalized for preventing his opponent from having a clear goal-scoring opportunity.

Red cards appeared continuously in the group stage of the 2024 U23 Asian Cup.

Two years ago, after the first round of group stage matches, the referees at the 2022 AFC U23 Championship did not have to show any red cards. There were 12 red cards in the entire tournament that year, including 9 cards in the second and third rounds of the group stage.

The number of 7 red cards after just 1 round of group stage matches at this year's U23 Asian tournament even surpassed the number of red cards in the group stage of the last 2 World Cups.

The 2018 and 2022 World Cups both saw just four red cards handed out before the knockout stages. If young players continue to play immaturely and commit rough fouls, it would not be surprising if the number of red cards in this year's tournament increased, creating a tournament record.

The fact that up to 7 players received red cards at the 2024 AFC U23 Championship is a warning to all teams, especially U23 Vietnam. In recent international tournaments, the Vietnamese team at all levels has received red cards many times, especially since VAR was applied to all international matches.

With the above red card, Ngoc Thang cannot play in the remaining 2 matches in Group D, forcing coach Hoang Anh Tuan to find a replacement. According to the schedule of U23 Asia 2024, U23 Vietnam will play the second match of the group stage with U23 Malaysia at 8:00 p.m. on April 20, before facing the strongest team in the group, U23 Uzbekistan, 3 days later.

Phuong Linh

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