Hanoi. Vietnamese police are investigating whether the national under-23 side fixed a match at the recent Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia, Vietnam�s football authorities said Friday.
It comes after state-controlled press questioned the team�s 3-1 victory over Laos on November 17 at the Games in Indonesia.
�We are working with the police who accompanied the footballers to the Games and we will study their report,� Vietnam Football Federation vice-president Pham Ngoc Vien said.
The VFF had not formally requested the probe, he added.
Police officers accompany footballers and other athletes to the Games as a matter of routine, he said.
�We don�t have clear information on this question [of match-fixing]. If there were problems, we will settle them soon,� the official added.
Vietnamese match-fixing in the past has involved criminals ordering a particular scoreline.
In 2007, two former footballers were given jail terms for fixing an under-23 match against Burma at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games in return for cash payments.
Tuoi Tre newspaper reported on its Web site of the latest allegations: �Some actions during the game indicate that the team may have been manipulating the match to limit the win for Vietnam.�
It cited Trong Hoang�s penalty kick going wide and striker Van Quyet �praying� after Vietnam extended their lead to 3-1. Midfielder Hoang told the Tien Phong newspaper that �me and my team-mates are completely clean.�
The victory over Laos ensured Vietnam finished top of Group B. They went on to lose 2-0 to Indonesia in the semi-finals.
Corruption is widespread throughout Vietnamese society and has hit professional football particularly hard.
Vietnam�s pro league has been dogged by allegation of graft for much of the past decade.
In October, wealthy club owners mounted a coup against the state-controlled VFF, essentially agreeing to privatize the sport from next year amid concerns over corruption that threatened to fatally undermine the popularity of the local league.
No comments:
Post a Comment