Disruptive!

(Baonghean)Many people believe that the way Chairman Thuy and Chairman Truong "withdrew from the league" was "sabotage" rather than an act of "fighting corruption" or for the good of Vietnamese football, as they often claim.

On the afternoon of April 10th, the V. Ninh Binh players received shocking news when Chairman Truong unexpectedly announced the dissolution of the team. The shock stemmed from the fact that the V.League was gradually stabilizing after the turmoil of previous seasons. Teams were striving to perform their best; smaller teams like Dong Nai and Quang Nam were carefully accumulating points to avoid relegation, while others, like Quang Ninh and Thanh Hoa, were playing with great enthusiasm and becoming "dark horses," currently sitting at the top of the league. Furthermore, V. Ninh Binh and Hanoi T&T were performing brilliantly in the AFC Cup, leading Vietnamese football fans to dream of a happy ending to the 2014 season. But everything was turned upside down when Chairman Truong cited a very absurd reason – "some players are involved in negative activities" – forcing V. Ninh Binh to "temporarily suspend" participation in any competition – which in reality meant dissolving the team.

V. Ninh Binh may be disbanded following Chairman Truong's statement on April 10th.

The practice of club owners withdrawing from the league and disbanding their teams was "commonplace" in previous seasons, because at that time, club owners were no longer making a fortune from real estate projects, so they had no choice but to abandon their projects and run away. Fans in Nghe An province surely cannot forget SLNA losing 6 points when, at the end of the 2013 season, owner Thuy announced the dissolution of Saigon Xuan Thanh. At that time, the V.League organizing committee was in a desperate situation, trying to find a solution to prevent the league from collapsing. The consequence was that the 2013 V.League was disrupted and became a "farce" in the eyes of many.

Many believe that the way bầu Thụy and bầu Trường "withdrew from the league" was "sabotage" rather than an act of "fighting corruption" or for the sake of Vietnamese football, as they often claim. Their behavior is quite simple and similar: "If you don't like it, then quit," regardless of the consequences. A team playing in the V.League, besides the sponsorship from its owners, is usually closely associated with a particular province or city – becoming the "pride" of that locality, and even representing the entire Vietnamese football scene, like V. Ninh Bình currently competing in the AFC Cup. Therefore, "whoever is at fault should bear the consequences," and the law should handle it. However, arbitrarily withdrawing from the league will cause a series of repercussions, affecting the movement and prestige of Vietnamese football, especially at this time when the VFF is striving to revive the country's football.

It remains to be seen whether V. Ninh Binh will even exist on the Vietnamese football map after Chairman Truong's statement on the afternoon of April 10, 2014, but it's time for those in charge of sports and football management in Vietnam to review and revise the regulations and sanctions related to the ownership and sponsorship of football teams. We cannot allow club owners to manipulate the system with the "play when you want, disband when you don't" mentality as has been the case recently. This is also a lesson for teams that are overly dependent on the financial support of a single owner!

Duc Dung