Football referee arrested for alleged match-fixing, first in Vietnam
HANOI - A professional-level Vietnamese referee has been arrested and will face trial on match-fixing charges, becoming the first target of a campaign here to rid football of corruption.
Referee Luong Trung Viet, 37, and three assistants are accused of taking 20 million dong (nearly 1,300 dollars) from a national V-league team to fix a match in April, an officer said, citing initial investigation reports.
Viet was arrested Thursday in a southern Vietnamese province but the three assistant referees are still free pending further investigation.
"The case regarding his bribe-taking is being under investigation by police, who believe some other Vietnamese referees could also be implicated in similar instances of match-fixing," an inquiry official said.
Vietnam's domestic V-League has been marred by allegations of corruption and match-fixing among players since its debut 2000-2001 season.
Viet is the first referee to be investigated under a so-called "clean hands" campaign launched to rid the sport of corruption.
Agence France Presse - August 26, 2005.
|