Long Meng Hav (red uniform) has been expelled from his team by the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Football Association following the April 8 match. PHOTO SUPPLIED
The group stages of the 2023 Cambodian League Cup are now complete and four teams will advance to the semi-finals. One of the matches was marred by an incidence of violence that resulted in the expulsion of player Long Meng Hav and the termination of his contract with the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) Football Association.
During the April 8 match against Kirivong Sok Sen Chey FC in Takeo province, Long Meng Hav, wearing his number 28 jersey, scored the opening goal for the RCAF Football Association in the 40th minute.
Later in the match, at the 79th minute, Meng Hav lost his temper and kicked opposing player Sok Leng from behind and tried to steal the ball from him.
Meng Hav’s assault was witnessed by Leng’s teammates, and Kirivong defender Man Nan race forward to shove Meng Hav in retaliation for the kick. A clash broke out between players on the two teams but the melee was halted by the intervention of the referees and by some players from both teams who kept cooler heads in the tense situation.
However, as both teams walked away from the site of the fighting, Meng Hav ran up and kicked Man Nan, sending him down onto the pitch. Meng Hav was eventually given a red card by the referees in the 82nd minute and ejected from the field, while some of the other players involved in the fight were given yellow cards.
After the incident, Mon Vanda scored a goal for RCAF to draw equal with Kirivong in the 84th minute. Then in the 92nd minute, Mao Piseth gave RCAF a 2-1 lead with his goal.
The excitement wasn’t quite finished there, though, as the 95th minute saw Un Seiha score a second goal for Kirivong, bringing the score to a draw and eliminating RCAF who ended the match with 10 points to Kirivong’s 11.
The Kirivong Sok Sen Chey team finished second in Group A with their 11 points. The team will advance to the semi-finals along with the first-place Visakha, who went on to beat the EDC team 5-1 on its home turf, thus winning all six of their games and advancing with 18 full points.
After reviewing the statements of witnesses and footage of the fight between the players during the match, the RCAF Football Association issued a statement terminating Meng Hav’s contract.
The letter said that having seen clear evidence of misconduct by Meng Hav in the 2023 Cambodian League Cup match, the club’s management and the association felt it necessary to terminate Meng Hav’s contract to show their strong opposition to any kind of intentional violence during matches and the bad example it sets for Cambodian football.
“We, the RCAF Football Association of Cambodia, are very sorry and we apologise to Kirivong Sok Sen Chey FC and all of the football fans for what happened,” the letter said.
In the final match of Group B on April 9, Phnom Penh Crown FC went on to beat the National Police FC 3-0 for a sixth consecutive victory which put the former on top of their group with a full 18 points.
NagaWorld FC beat the hosts Angkor Tigers 7-0 and their blowout victory helped them move to second place in the group with 13 points. Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng’s match against ISI Dangkor Senchey FC was a 2-2 draw, and they were eliminated with just 11 points.
Next up for the 2023 league cup, NagaWorld will face Visakha FC and Kirivong Sok Sen Chey will face Phnom Penh Crown in the semi-finals matches to determine which two teams head to the final and get a shot at the championship.
