VFF President Le Hung Dung: 'We have some information...'

The head of VFF shared his previous statements after the Vietnamese team lost to Malaysia in the second leg of the AFF Cup 2014 semi-finals. In addition, Mr. Dung also gave his opinion on the disciplinary action that VFF gave to 9 V. Ninh Binh players involved in match-fixing in the AFC Cup 2014.

“I didn't say investigate anyone.”

Mr. Dung said: “Regarding the information released by the Ministry of Public Security that no negative signs were discovered in that match, I also heard it through the press. But you should remember, this is just that no negative signs were discovered, no one has confirmed that the Vietnamese players are completely clean.

VFF President Le Hung Dung spoke at the VPF Shareholders' Meeting held in Ho Chi Minh City yesterday morning. Photo: VPF

Witnessing the painful defeat of their team, many officials from the Ministry of Public Security also shared with me. They were all upset and did not understand why the defenders of the Vietnamese team had exposed so many loopholes, leading to 4 goals conceded.

We have some information that the press and authorities do not know. Please give us more time. We still respect the decisions of the Ministry of Public Security.

Regarding the matter of apologizing to Vietnamese fans and players after the recent announcement of the Ministry of Public Security, I think it is not necessary at this time. I need to clarify this issue. I have not told any press agency about investigating any negative allegations.

I affirm that I only asked the authorities to clarify the defeat of the Vietnamese team. I did not say to investigate anyone. The authorities, in my opinion, could be the police, or the National Coaching Council…

I feel like at this moment, the people who are fighting against negativity are becoming victims, becoming "criminals". I affirm that I, like all Vietnamese people, have the right to be suspicious.

I have that right like every other citizen, so why should I be deprived of that right? Don't I have the right to ask why the match was played in such a confusing way? I didn't do anything wrong, so I don't have to apologize to anyone here."

“Players who sell matches will be banned from playing forever”

Mr. Le Hung Dung announced yesterday that this is the only penalty for players involved in match-fixing and betting. VFF will not be lenient with any violations from now on.

Asked to comment on the VFF Disciplinary Board's permanent ban on nine V. Ninh Binh players involved in the AFC Cup match-fixing scandal, Mr. Le Hung Dung said: "In the recent Executive Committee meeting in Can Tho, we agreed on the need to strictly handle those involved in match-fixing and betting. There will only be one sentence: a permanent ban. If we continue to impose different sentences, players will still think about violating the law, and if they are discovered, they will "run away" to compete again after a few months or years. We need to let players decide whether to live cleanly with their profession, or be eliminated from football life."

Besides the majority supporting the VFF's harsh decision against the 9 Ninh Binh players, there are still some opinions that this penalty is too harsh. Regarding this issue, Mr. Dung said: "It is true that for some people, this penalty is considered somewhat harsh. But I think that for the majority of public opinion and fans, this is a necessary measure. We also hope that the media and public opinion will support it. If the VFF does not take strict action, many people will criticize us for being lenient with violations.

This is a temporary decision, in the context of Vietnamese football currently in great need of tightening discipline. Depending on how the situation changes in the future, we will make adjustments. However, at least during my term, there will be no case of players selling matches being tolerated again."

"VFF is determined to take strong action against negativity"

Mr. Dung added: “Regarding the permanent suspension of 9 players of V. Ninh Binh involved in corruption, I think that the punishment for those players is reasonable and has enough deterrence. We have learned from previous experiences when there were many different disciplinary sentences, but the players still re-offended.

They were involved in corruption, but still hoped that they could get their sentence overturned. After a while, they got involved in corruption again. Obviously, the disciplinary action was not enough to deter them. This punishment is to set an example for the remaining players.

Vietnamese football has not been able to develop in recent times, according to VFF, partly due to the problem of betting and match-fixing. If we do not have a strong medicine to relieve this pain, Vietnamese football will remain stagnant. I have read many opinions that the VFF's disciplinary sentence seems harsh.

But we think this is a temporary solution. When the evils of match-fixing, gambling, and match-fixing... end, we may reconsider this resolution. Perhaps, during my term, that will be difficult to happen. We are determined to maintain our strong stance on negativity."

According to TTVH