Top two chiefs from the referee department under Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) have been suspended after four referees in their department were accused of receiving bribes.
Head of the referee’s department Duong Vu Lam
The four referees were accused of receiving VND100 million (USD4,800) for the match between Thanh Hoa and Hoang Anh Gia Lai that took place on March 30. It is said that the case was exposed because the referees had disputes with each other when they tried to divide the money.
On June 7, the VFF officially reported the case to Criminal Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security. According to the VFF the involved referees were Dinh Hai Duong, Pham Dac Chien, Do Manh Ha and Kieu Viet Hung.
All of the accused referees have also been suspended. If they were proved to be guilty, they would be banned for life and the football club that paid the bribes would have to replay the match or be relegated.
One June 9, chairman of VFF Nguyen Trong Hy approved the suspension of the head of the referee’s department Duong Vu Lam and his deputy, Doan Phu Tan.
He said, "The referee department didn't pass on the information to the heads and tried to resolve the problem themselves. The issue occurred since March but only came out to light after public concerns and that's unacceptable."
Rumours said that Lam and Tan might lose their positions, especially after a slew of scandals related to refereeing having been exposed during the past years.
After the suspension, Lam said during a phone call referee Dinh Hai Duong admitted that a stranger had given him and other referees VND50 million each. However, he claimed they did not know what the stranger had given them money for. The recording of the conversation has been transferred to the police.
Lam said the referee department did their best to investigate the case and the suspension of him and his deputy was incomprehensible.
On the other hand, the involved referees still have not mentioned a word about money.
Chairman of Vietnam Professional Football Company, Vo Quoc Thang said, "We tried to improve referee wages after receiving complaints. Their wages have dwindled in recent months. However, after the economic recovery, we will make referee wages our first priority."
