According to the AFC decision, Dinh Bac has been handed a two-match suspension in official international competitions, effective after the match against South Korea U23. As he is no longer eligible to compete at U23 level, the suspension will be served at senior national team level if he is selected in upcoming fixtures.

The AFC assessed Dinh Bac’s offence as less serious than that of centre-back Pham Ly Duc, who was sent off in the semi-final against China U23 on January 20 for a violent incident. Ly Duc received a three-match suspension, one of which he has already served in the third-place match.

Vietnam’s upcoming official international fixtures include the match against Malaysia on March 31 in the third round of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers, as well as the AFF Cup 2026, scheduled to take place from July 24 to August 26.

If Dinh Bac is not called up for the match against Malaysia, he will serve his suspension in Vietnam’s first two group-stage matches at the AFF Cup 2026, against the winner of the Brunei–Timor-Leste play-off on July 24 and against Singapore on July 31.

Similarly, centre-back Pham Ly Duc is also expected to miss Vietnam’s opening matches at the AFF Cup 2026 should he be selected, as he has yet to complete his suspension.

AFC honours Dinh Bac after outstanding performance against UAE

VOV.VN - The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has named Nguyen Dinh Bac as Man of the Match in the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2026 quarter-final between Vietnam U23 and UAE U23, recognizing one of the most impressive individual performances of the tournament so far.