Southeast Asia now has its own spygate after Park Hang-seo accused Malaysia head coach Tan Cheng Hoe of spying on Vietnam’s training session.
AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 champions Vietnam are set to host 2018 finalists Malaysia in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers at the My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi on Thursday and the incident in question occurred on the eve of the crucial fixture.
Hosts Vietnam and Malaysia were allotted back-to-back time slots at the same venue for training the day before the third matchday of the 2022 World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup Joint-Qualifiers second round and New Straits Times are reporting that the South Korean tactician Park “lost his cool” over it.
According to reports, Malaysia national team arrived at the VFF Youth Training Centre around 5.45 PM local time on Monday, which was 15 minutes earlier and when the Vietnamese players were still undergoing their training under the guidance of Park.
“An upset Park told coach Cheng Hoe and his men to stay on the bus and move to another corner, that was out of sight. [But], while the Malaysian players were changing into their jerseys, Cheng Hoe stood and watched the Vietnam team train,” NST reported.
This further led to a displeased Vietnam boss calling off their training session prematurely and shifting it to a different location altogether away from the prying eyes of the visiting side.
The 2022 World Cup Qualifiers tie between the Golden Dragons and Harimau Malaya is set to kick off at 9 PM HKT on October 10.
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(Photo credit: Vietnam Football Federation, FA Malaysia)