In a shock to Vietnamese volleyball, the Vietnam U21 women’s team has had four group-stage results nullified at the 2025 U21 World Championship after the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) ruled that an ineligible player participated.

“Following concerns that the Vietnam Volleyball Federation had included an ineligible player in the Vietnam U21 team at the 2025 U21 Women’s World Championship in Indonesia, the FIVB conducted an investigation in accordance with regulations. The investigation concluded that the player in question did not meet the eligibility requirements under Article 12.2 of the FIVB 2023 Disciplinary Regulations,” the FIVB announced on the evening of August 12.

Based on Article 13.5.2 of the competition regulations and Article 14.4 of the disciplinary regulations, the FIVB’s Disciplinary Subcommittee ruled to annul all matches in which the ineligible player took part. The player was also immediately expelled from the tournament.

Not only were Vietnam’s victories annulled, but the 2025 World Championship organizing committee is also considering imposing additional sanctions on Vietnamese volleyball.

“The Disciplinary Subcommittee will forward the file to the FIVB Disciplinary Council for further evaluation of potential penalties beyond the tournament. At that time, the Vietnam Volleyball Federation and the athlete will be invited to submit written statements. The FIVB will not comment further while the competition is ongoing,” the statement concluded.

At the group stage, Vietnam U21 defeated Indonesia, Serbia, Canada, and Puerto Rico, losing only to Argentina. The ineligible athlete  -  believed to be either Dang Thi Hong or Nguyen Phuong Quynh  -  played in the matches against Indonesia, Serbia, and Canada, while both sat out the win over Puerto Rico. As a result, three victories and the 1-3 loss to Argentina were annulled, all recorded as 0-3 defeats.

This ruling drops Vietnam from second place to the bottom of Group A, eliminating them from the top 16. The team, led by head coach Nguyen Trong Linh, will face Egypt in the 17th–24th place classification match at 1 p.m. on August 13.

It is unclear which specific regulation the Vietnamese player violated, though reports suggest both were subject to urine and blood tests and faced issues with birth certificates. The Vietnam Volleyball Federation has yet to make an official statement.

Dai Nam