Will there be no more worries about referees?

(Baonghean.vn) In the 2011 season, refereeing was always a "hot" issue in every round, even reaching a peak like the Hoa Phat vs. Hai Phong match in round 23 of the V.League 2011.

In that match, Hoa Phat lost 1-2, and according to coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh, referee Nguyen Cong Trong blatantly favored Hai Phong. Vinh also didn't hesitate to say outright that referees are a mafia manipulating Vietnamese football. Disillusioned with the officiating of the referees, the owner of Hoa Phat Group abandoned football after 8 years of pursuing his passion.

In the 2012 season, fans hoped to see a different image of the "king of the pitch" when the national championship became the Super League and was run by the Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company (VPF), along with the establishment of the VFF Referee Committee to replace the National Referee Council.

The first positive step in improving referee quality by the VPF (Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company) was to increase the remuneration for referees in the 2012 season to approximately 10 million VND per match. Before the season began, referees underwent rigorous training and testing regarding physical fitness, health, and professional skills. After the tests, four referees were eliminated for failing to meet the requirements. Furthermore, this season, the VPF enlisted the help of the C45 Department (General Department of Police for Crime Prevention - Ministry of Public Security) to protect the refereeing work, and the C45 Department also cooperated in investigating potential match-fixing allegations.

In the recent Round of 16 of the National Cup, Vietnamese referees for the first time implemented communication headsets between referees and attached alarm chips to the main referee's watch and the assistant referee's flagpoles to create the best conditions for the main referee to control the match.

Mr. Duong Vu Lam (Head of the VPF Referee Committee) stated: "Good regulations require high responsibility." And he put his words into action; after the first round of the 2012 National Cup, two referees were found to have failed to fulfill their duties. These were referee Kieu Viet Hung, who officiated the match between Saigon FC and K. Khanh Hoa at Thong Nhat Stadium.

In this match, referee Kieu Viet Hung made a controversial decision, awarding Saigon FC a corner kick even though the ball did not touch any K. Khanh Hoa player before going out of bounds. Then there was the case of fourth official Nguyen Quoc Hung in the Binh Duong vs. Lam Dong match. In that game, Nguyen Quoc Hung did not coordinate well with the main referee Nguyen Van Dong in several situations. While these two mistakes would have been considered minor issues and overlooked in the previous season, the VPF Referee Committee has now forced referees Kieu Viet Hung and Nguyen Quoc Hung to officiate in the First Division for the first few rounds, instead of being allowed to officiate in the Super League.

With these positive developments, it is hoped that in the 2012 season, referees will no longer be the target of criticism from teams and fans, but will instead rightfully be the "fair arbiters" of the matches.

Duc Dung