Hanoi FC have been slapped with a fine and a stadium ban for the remaining of the 2019-20 season after the V. League 1 side allowed flares to be set off during their home match against Nam Dinh earlier this week, Vietnam’s football governing body said Friday.

The Vietnamese capital’s football club were fined VND85 million (US$3,655) and will have to play their next home games at V. League 1, Vietnam’s top-tier football league, with no home spectators, according to ruling by the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF).

Hanoi FC only has two home games from now till the end of 26-round season of Vietnam’s top league, which kicked off in February, including one against Viettel FC on Sunday and another against Quang Nam FC on October 6.

Nam Dinh FC, which were routed 1-6 by Hanoi FC in Wednesday’s match, were also given the same cash fine, while their supporters are banned from cheering for them at the stadium in two next away games against Khanh Hoa FC on September 21 and Saigon FC on October 19.

The two clubs were punished after flares were lit and thrown from Stand B, reserved for Nam Dinh FC fans, to Stand A, where supporters of the hosts were seated, and onto the athletics track, during their clash at Hang Day Stadium in the Vietnamese capital city on Wednesday night.

One of the flares hit a woman and seriously burned her thigh. She has to undergo two surgeries for complete treatment.

A woman is hospitalized at Xanh Pon General Hospital in Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, after a flare firing incident at Hang Day Stadium, September 11, 2019. Photo: Xanh Pon General Hospital

The stand-off between the fans of the guest team and police also resulted in two policemen being hospitalized.

The report of the match’s supervisors after the incident showed that Hanoi FC were at fault for not checking and controlling what objects spectators brought to the stadium, resulting in a large amount of flares easily carried inside the venue.

Vietnam Professional Football Co. (VPF), which has organized V. League 1 since 2011, also accused the host of lacking security forces and not complying with a security plan proposed by the executive board of the league.

The management board of Hanoi FC admitted to having enacted lax security measures, and sent their apology to those suffered from the incident on Thursday, one day before VFF announced the punishment.

On Saturday, police in Hanoi’s Dong Da District also started legal proceedings against the case for “causing public disorder and resisting on-duty officials”.

The police summoned 14 Nam Dinh FC supporters for investigation to identify who lit the flares.

Hanoi FC are the title favorites, now topping the standings with 46 points after 22 rounds, while Nam Dinh FC are in ninth position with 27 points.

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