Vietnamese footballers suspended in inquiry
HANOI - The Vietnam Football Confederation (VFC) says it has banned six footballers, including an international squad member, from playing in the professional V-League for up to three years for their alleged role in match fixing.
The federation says it is continuing to investigate the activities of the five suspended players from Pjico Song Lam Nghe An FC and one from Danang FC.
"Their suspensions began yesterday," a VFC official said.
In a statement, the VFC said the players had violated club regulations and had deliberately performed badly during matches and in training, with some "even showing signs of fixing results in matches in the V-league".
Danang's Nguyen Phi Hung was given the longest suspension of three years, while the five others were banned for between four and 18 months.
Pjico Song Lam Nghe An goalkeeper Duong Hong Son, who was handed a four-month suspension, was also dropped from Vietnam's international squad.
In addition, Pham Van Quyen, the national team's top striker, was given a reprimand for underperforming while playing for the club, which has had a disappointing past two seasons, but he was not suspended.
These latest suspensions are likely to cast a further pall over professional football in Vietnam and the scandal-ridden Last November Vietnam international Vu Nhu Thanh was banned for five years for allegedly instructing teammates to underperform during a JVC Cup match between Vietnam's under-23 team and Malaysian club Perak earlier that month.
Two other players from the Hoang Anh Gia Lai FC were also suspended in November for three years for their role in fixing a quarterfinal tie in the ASEAN Club Championship in July last year.
Agence France Presse - August 18, 2004.
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