AFC officially issues a penalty to the Vietnam Football Federation

AFC fines the Vietnam Football Federation, as well as handing out various sanctions to other football associations.

At the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee meeting held on October 2 and 3, 2025, a series of penalties were officially announced for member federations due to multiple violations. Notably, the Vietnam Football Federation appeared among the sanctioned associations.

The AFC statement clearly states: "1. The Vietnam Football Federation is fined 1,250 USD for breaching Article 11.13 of the AFC International Match Regulations. 2. The penalty will be enforced within 30 days from the issuance of this decision, in accordance with Article 11.3 of the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Regulations."

Specifically, AFC fined the Vietnam Football Federation 1,250 USD due to the late submission of the license application for the Thiên Long Tournament international friendly held in July 2025. Similarly, the Indonesian Football Federation was also fined 1,250 USD for the same reason related to the 2025 President’s Cup friendly.

Additionally, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced a series of penalties for member federations due to organizational errors during the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup qualifiers and the Asian qualifiers for the World Cup. Among the penalized federations was the Football Association of Malaysia.

Specifically, both the Malaysian and Mongolian Football Federations were fined 1,000 USD each for starting the second half 1 minute and 32 seconds late in the U23 Malaysia vs U23 Mongolia match during the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup qualifiers held in Thailand.

Meanwhile, the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), as the host of the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup qualifiers, was fined 33,000 USD for breaching organizational regulations during the match between U23 Malaysia and U23 Lebanon. Specific violations included failing to prepare 2 ambulances at least 90 minutes before the match and failing to prepare or properly equip the medical room within the required timeframe on match day.

The Uzbekistan Football Federation received a heavy penalty of 300,000 USD due to serious breaches in organizing the World Cup 2026 qualifier match (Uzbekistan vs Qatar). The main violation was unauthorized organization of the closing ceremony without AFC approval. This action was considered a severe infringement on AFC’s rights, particularly failing to protect the interests of AFC’s partners and commercial sponsors.