Television rights for the European football championships, or Euro 2012, has remained a tousle between the two sides – the international sports rights marketing agency SportFive (S5) as the seller and Vietnamese TV stations as the purchasing side.

As the deadline for applying tender document on April 20 is looming, S5 announced Wednesday it received a bidding document from a firm in Vietnam. However, it refused to name the bidder.

It’s not television stations in the football-mad Vietnam ignored such a big football event, but the high price has made the nonchalance.

S5 raised the price of US$5 million for exclusive TV right at the Euro 2012, 2.5 times higher than the price of $2 million the Vietnam Television spent for the rights of Euro 2008.

Yet, representatives of S5 – the official sales agent of European football association – argued at a meeting in Hanoi on Wednesday that it is quite acceptable.

Vietnamese TV stations can hardly accept such a high price, said VTC digital TV channel’s vice director Vu Quang Huy at the meeting.

At the meeting, most of local TV stations vowed not to join the race sparked by S5 to push up the price.

Meanwhile, Tran Song Hai – vice chief of Vietnam football fans association – told Tuoi Tre on Wednesday that he would contact the Singapore-based S5 to probe chance for purchasing the right and then his association will sell it to local TV stations.

“I talked on phone with a man named Rudy of S5 and he promised to send us bidding form,” Hai added.

The Euro 2012 will be co-hosted in Ukraine and Poland.