VietNamNet Bridge – All 28 football clubs from the V-League and First Division will cast their votes for who they want to head up next year's league organising boards, the Viet Nam Football Federation has announced.

In a meeting in Ha Noi earlier this month, the chairmen of several V-League powerhouses complained about the standard of the V-League board and refereeing in the two leagues last year.

The 2010 head of the V-League organising board, Duong Nghiep Khoi, who resigned from his first tenure following a bloody brawl in Nghe An that left one person dead and 10 others injured in 2008, was severely criticised by team bosses and coaches from Ha Noi ACB, Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Khanh Hoa and Dong Tam Long An at the meeting.

Four chairmen asked the governing body to change its management from the next year in order to make the football championships more attractive.

"The quality of V-League football has been poor in recent years due to bad management. The VFF needs to replace its management officials now," said Hoang Anh Gia Lai's chairman Doan Nguyen Duc.

"We spend VND30 billion (US$1.5 million) on our team each year, but we gain nothing from football. We are always afraid of bad referees because their mistakes spoil beautiful matches," he said.

He added that the VFF should hand out heavy punishments to poor referees.

Chairman of Dong Tam Long An, Vo Quoc Thang stressed that referees should receive higher salaries from the VFF, which would act as an incentive for them to perform at their best during every game, leading to better quality football.

"Teams are capable of contributing $250,000 each to pay for referees in the V-League and First Division," Thang said.

Nguyen Duc Kien, chairman of Ha Noi ACB, said the new head must be appointed on the back of a fair vote.

"The V-League and First Division are ours so teams have a right to choose the best officials," Kien, who had previously threatened to break away to form a new league, explained.

VFF vice chairman Le Hung Dung said they would summon representatives from the 28 teams to discuss how to improve football and the management of the game.

"I promise that there will be many changes from next season including the quality of refereeing and a change in personnel," Dung told team bosses.

He conceded that referees had not performed well in some V-League and First Division matches, resulting in poor quality football.

Team bosses also asked the VFF to monitor proceedings on the transfer market. At the meeting, the National Referee Council gave life bans to referees Tran Cong Trong and Nguyen Van Quyet after a review of their actions.

Trong made several bad calls during the match between Hai Phong and Hoa Phat Ha Noi, which led to the Hanoian team losing 2-1.

Hoa Phat Ha Noi's team boss Nguyen Manh Tuan then announced his company would be withdrawing sponsorship from the team after eight years.

The team, who subsequently merged with relegated Ha Noi ACB, will be competing in the V-League under a new name next year, Ha Noi Football Club.

In a match between Binh Duong and Hai Phong, referee Quyet missed a clear cut penalty for hosts Binh Duong, who eventually lost 1-0.

In a previous match, Quyet also denied Navibank Sai Gon a spot kick in their game against Song Lam Nghe An.

The V-League will kick off on January 1 and close on June 23.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News