VietNamNet Bridge – Nguyen Thanh Vinh, coach of Hoa Phat Hanoi FC, said that referees are mafia who are swaying Vietnam’s football. Le Thuy Hai, one of the most famous coaches in Vietnam, agreed with Vinh.
They both said that there are only several referees of good qualification. The remaining referees are all unqualified. Vinh and Hai’s comments fit the actual situation.

Referees showed serious mistakes in all 26 rounds of the V-League or the First Division 2011. Below are the most serious mistakes of referees:

In the 7th round of V-League at the Stadium of Vinh City, referee Ngo Quoc Hung gave the host Song Lam Nghe An (SLNA) a free penalty, though the ball did not touch the hand of halfback John Wole of Thanh Hoa FC. Finally, SLNA was the winner with three goals.

In the 12th round, Navibank Saigon’s captain Tai Em was pulled to the ground by a midfielder of the rival team in the penalty area, but referee Nguyen Van Quyet neglected it.

In the 18th round, also at the Stadium of Vinh City, referee Vo Minh Tri gave a free penalty to Hoang Anh Gia Lai, though midfielder Huy Hoang of the host team – SLNA – did not touch the ball at all.

In the 23rd round, referee Tran Cong Trong treated Hoa Phat Hanoi FC unfairly, resulting in the team’s 1-2 lose. After this game, Hoa Phat Hanoi FC stated that it wanted to leave V-League.

In the 24th round, referee Nguyen Van Quyet did not allow Binh Duong to have a penalty, though Hai Phong FC’s fault was clear. As a result, Binh Duong lost 0-1 at its home stadium.

Because of the referees’ mistakes, the results of the above matches and the fate of some FCs were directly influenced. It is said that these mistakes did not come from referees’ qualifications, but because they were bribed.

Bui Nhu Duc, member of the National Referee Council, said that wage of referees is too low. “Taxi fares from the Noi Bai airport to stadiums in the city’s hub is VND350,000, but referees are paid only VND90,000. If referees did not love their job, they would have not been referees. The pay for referees and supervisors at young football tournaments is too low. Can we be confident to fight bribery?”

Duc said that not only referees but others involved in the V-League or First Division can be “shot” by “bullets covered by money”.

In Duc’s opinion, there are enough referees and their qualifications are good, but the matter is how to urge them to give their whole mind to their job, to become professional referees.

Senior coach Le Thuy Hai, said that it is unnecessary to use referees based on their hometowns and questioned whether referees who made serious mistakes should be dismissed?

The National Referee Council has recently dismissed three referees named Tran Cong Trong, Nguyen Van Quyet and Do Quoc Hoai from the V-League and First Division tournament 2012. Trong and Quyet were accused to make unfair decisions which are unacceptable, while Hoai was said to have unhealthy lifestyle.

Coach Le Thanh Vinh, who severely criticized referee Trong Cong Trong, said: “My speech is proven to be right but it is needed to make clear mistakes of referee Trong and others. Do you believe the team of referees will be clean, with sense of justice if we dismiss three referees?”

The National Referee Coach has nominated five referees for the Golden Whistle 2011 title, including: Vu Bao Linh, Phung Dinh Dung, Nguyen Trong Thu, Vo Quang Vinh and Nguyen Phi Long. The winner will be announced on September 8.

TA