Đinh Thanh Trung (right) and other defendants at the trial on Tuesday. — Photo vietbao.vn

On May 4, 2024, Trung and four other players from Hà Tĩnh FC – Dương Quang Tuấn, Nguyễn Ngọc Thắng, Nguyễn Trung Học and Nguyễn Văn Trường – were arrested for drug use in a hotel in Hà Tĩnh City, along with five women.

Among them, Trung was a pillar of Hà Tĩnh FC team for many years, while Thắng is a promising young defender, who has just played for the Việt Nam U23 team at the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2024.

Trung was the initiator of the drug use, having invited his teammates to rent a hotel room. He retrieved drugs left by a partner in an alley nearby and brought them to the room, where they used the substances for several hours before being caught by police.

In his confession, Trung admitted to previous drug use, although he could not recall the exact details.

On Tuesday, the People's Court of Hà Tĩnh City sentenced the five players: Trung and Tuấn each received four years and six months, while Thắng, Học and Trường were sentenced to four years in prison for organising illegal drug use under Clause 2, Article 155 of the Penal Code.

The five women involved were not charged due to insufficient evidence and received administrative penalties for illegal drug use.

Three months ago, following the players' arrests, the Việt Nam Football Federation (VFF) Disciplinary Board imposed an indefinite ban on all five players. — VNS