AFF sees no signs of match-fixing in Vietnam's loss to Malaysia

The Southeast Asian Football Federation, with support from a Swiss security company, concluded there was no evidence that Vietnamese players sold the match in the second leg of the AFF Cup semi-final.

AFF concludes that Vietnam's loss to Malaysia showed no suspicious signs. Photo: Giang Huy.

A press release issued by AFF on the afternoon of December 12 on the organization's homepage affirmed: "The security service did not detect any suspicious betting patterns before the Vietnam - Malaysia match or in the online betting market. In fact, the pre-match betting market showed that the odds of Vietnam winning were quite high. However, this betting market was not enough to raise any suspicions. There were no signs in the betting market indicating that the incidents in the match were suspicious. Although Malaysia unexpectedly won to enter the final, the security service could not find evidence to suggest that the match was fixed."

Since the beginning of the AFF 2014 tournament, the Southeast Asian Football Federation has announced that it has cooperated with Swiss data company Sportradar to monitor and analyze all 18 matches, observing unusual signs in the betting market. The announcement that AFF made about Vietnam's loss to Malaysia was consulted by Sportradar.

AFF announcement on the investigation into the second leg of the semi-final. Screenshot.

The conclusion from the AFF partly protects the innocence of the Vietnamese players after losing 2-4 to Malaysia in the second leg of the semi-final, thereby being eliminated from the tournament despite having a 2-1 advantage in the first leg. The defense made many mistakes, conceding four goals in the first half, making the public suspect whether or not some players were selling the match. After the match, the Vietnam Football Federation also asked the authorities to clarify the incident.

The AFF’s conclusion cannot close the curtain on this case. The final conclusion may have to wait for the Vietnamese investigation agencies.

Previously, midfielder Nguyen Thanh Luong spoke up that he and the other players were clean and played their best against Malaysia. Center back Phuoc Tu also expressed disappointment at being suspected.

According to VNE