Vietnam match-fixing scandal widens
HANOI - Four more soccer coaches and officials are being investigated for their possible roles in Vietnam's widening match fixing and bribery scandal, state-controlled media reported Friday.
Doan Nguyen Duc, owner and president of the Hoang Anh Gia Lai team in the top-flight V-League, is being investigated for allegedly bribing four referees $200 US each before a league cup in 2003, the Thanh Nien newspaper reported.
Three officials of V-League team Song Lam Nghe An, including former coach Nguyen Huu Thang and assistant coach Nguyen Xuan Vinh, are being investigated for allegedly bribing other teams to secure the championship title in 2000-2001, according to the paper.
An official at the police investigation department, speaking on the customary condition of anonymity, denied reports in several state newspapers that Thang and Vinh were taken into police custody Thursday, but said the pair could be arrested in the next couple of days.
Ho Chi Minh City's Law newspaper quoted Duc admitting he ordered his staff to give the money to the referees, but denied that he bribed the referees to influence them to direct the match in the team's favour.
Duc said the money was given to the referees as stipends for Lunar New Year festivities, adding it was a common practice by many other teams. He was also quoted as saying that he did not fix the match in which his team lost 1-0 and was eliminated from the quarter-finals of the league cup.
Last month, four players from the Vietnam national team, including star striker Pham Van Quyen, were arrested for alleged match fixing during the Southeast Asian Games at the Philippines late last year.
Three other players in the national team are also under investigation for their alleged involvement in the match-fixing scam.
The Associated Press - January 13, 2006.
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