European expert: V-League must teach football culture from youth level before relying on bans

Đoàn Văn Hậu's challenge on Doãn Ngọc Tân produced a four-match ban. Yet it also exposed a long-standing habit: Vietnamese football tolerates excessive force as part of the game, from youth training fields to the professional league. An unnamed European expert told Dân trí that this is the result of a football education system lacking foundation, where foul technique is passed through experience and reproduced across generations. In the early part of the season alone, the V-League recorded at least three notable violent incidents. Văn Hậu received a four-match suspension after a dangerous challenge on Doãn Ngọc Tân. Tấn Sinh and Văn Sơn were criticised for deliberate fouls on Đình Bắc. Many other excessive challenges continued to appear. For the expert, listing player names matters less than the question: why do they choose violence to solve a situation? That answer lies in how they were taught. The core issue is how to teach tackling, body control and decision-making in heated moments. These skills must be built from an early age through proper coaching curricula. Many youth training centres in Vietnam still rely on coaches whose main credential is playing experience, even street football, instead of certified coaching courses. The expert argues this gap creates a generation of players who misunderstand the line between aggressive play and dangerous play. Equally important is on-field behaviour. Some training environments encourage young players to play aggressively or intimidate opponents. When a coach treats intimidation as a tactic, young players accept it as normal. A player used to intimidation from the age of fifteen will not change easily because of a single suspension. The expert also stressed the cascade: young players always look at senior players to learn how to behave. If brutal fouls are tolerated in the V-League, younger levels will copy them. Conversely, if senior players control their force and respect opponents, the next generation will follow. Therefore, sanctions in cases like Văn Hậu's must be strong enough to deter and send a message to the whole system. If the cycle continues, the real question is the effectiveness of discipline. Yet the expert's framing still has a blind spot. By reducing everything to a coaching gap, one can miss deliberate intent. Tấn Sinh and Văn Sơn both fouled Đình Bắc in a short period; that looks more like tactical intimidation than accident. In elite football, tactical fouls are normal, but when they target a specific player, the distinction between poor technique and intent must be clarified. Result pressure also pushes players toward violence. When a coach's job is unstable and one win decides the season, control often disappears. Heavy rain and poor pitches are aggravating factors, not the root cause. Fixing pitches while ignoring coaching values will not stop dangerous tackles. Raising penalties while failing to upgrade coach standards will still send players into the league with poor habits. In developed football nations, youth coaches must hold appropriate licences and attend regular refresher courses. The AFC licensing pyramid runs from C to Pro, covering pedagogy and player psychology. Vietnam still loosens these standards in many local academies. When teachers lack a proper curriculum, players learn through instinct; when instinct is celebrated, violence becomes what people call fighting spirit. That definition must change. This story concerns the entire system, not only Văn Hậu or Đình Bắc. Having followed the V-League for many years, I have seen sanctions announced quickly while the disease keeps returning. We enjoy debating whether penalties are too heavy or too light, but rarely ask why players behave that way in the first place. The European expert pointed to the way forward: retrain coaches, build football culture at youth level, and make discipline consistent. If the VFF and VPF jointly redesign the coaching pipeline and the disciplinary code, every season will still produce a Văn Hậu, still produce a Đình Bắc. The real task is to ensure the next generation plays the right way without needing sanctions. A civilised football culture grows from the first training sessions of children, where a teacher shows them how to touch the ball, how to fall, and how to stand up after a duel.