The Criminal Police Department began an investigation on June 11 into the most recent bribery case, involving four Vietnam Football Federation referees.
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| Pham Dac Chien, one of four involved referees |
The four involved, Dinh Hai Duong, Kieu Viet Hung, Pham Dac Chien and Do Manh Ha, were suspended. Also suspended by the VFF were two top officials of the referee department, Duong Vu Lam and Doan Phu Tan. Statements from all those allegedly involved in the scam have been collected for evidence in the investigation.
The head of the referee department, Duong Vu Lam, said he recorded a conversation between his deputy, Doan Phu Tan, and a referee, Dinh Hai Duong, in which Duong admitted to having taken a VND50 million bribe.
Duong denied the charges, claiming that the conversation was just a joke. He has also expressed interest in having a meeting with Lam in order to clear up the matter.
The two top officials of the referee department, Lam and Tan, also disagree with the decision for their suspension and would like to appeal to the VFF.
The vice head of the VFF, Nguyen Lan Trung, has admitted that the department had made mistakes in dealing with the issue, saying that the referee department should have informed managers instead of attempting to handle the matter internally.
Pham Van Tuan, vice head of VFF, and General Department of Sports and Physical Training, said that he would report any further disputes that may occur within the organisation to the police. He added that there would be a meeting held in HCM City to deal with the most urgent matters.
