Vietnam Football Federation Chairman Nguyen Trong Hy will meet with the referee department today to discuss whether or not foreign referees should be hired to work in the V-League.

The meeting will provide a solution to the performance of referees, which has raised heated reactions from the clubs and the public, the VFF said.

The foreign referee hiring question came about after many clubs repeatedly complained about the mistakes referees have made in the country’s top-tier professional football league over the last 9 rounds.

SHB Da Nang football club has recently even filed a petition to call for a suspension of the V-league, saying the mistakes have adversely affected the league, as well as clubs’ results.

The idea was shared by Coach Phan Thanh Hung of Hanoi T&T, who said the referees’ continual misconduct “will murder the football clubs.”

If foreign referees can perform better than their domestic counterparts, Vietnamese football will be freed from public objections, insiders said.

On the other hand, even if the foreign referees fail to meet public expectations, local football clubs will have a more sympathetic view on domestic referees, since mistakes will then seem to be part of the game, they added.

VPF shakes its head

Nguyen Trong Hy, VFF chairman and VPF CEO, said the proposal to hire foreign referees should be decided upon soon, since the local referee force is currently quite weak.

“Most football clubs now deploy quick attacking tactics, and referees are likely to make mistakes since they fail to follow the match development,” said Hy.

Hy said Southeast Asian referees can be hired to perform duties in the heated V-League matches.

There will be no difficulty doing so since Duong Vu Lam, head of the VFF’s referee department, is now also in charge of the referee department of the Southeast Asian Football Federation as a deputy chairman, he said.

“Capital may be the only hindrance, since it is costly to hire foreign referees.

“However, this can be solved by swapping referees among regional countries,” he said.

Referees from Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia can be invited to work in the V-League, and this can easily be done thanks to the good partnership between Vietnam and those countries, said Hy.

Meanwhile, VPF deputy chairman Vo Quoc Thang appeared cautious about the matter of hiring foreign referees, since it is not the VPF’s business.

Moreover, there are still many good Vietnamese referees, he stated.

“It is unfair when the referees are not praised when they appropriately handle a match, while they have to receive public objections in the contrary case,” said Thang.

“It is not yet necessary to hire foreign referees,” he confirmed.

He said seasoned referees should be invited to train their young colleagues to improve their ability.

“Hiring foreign referees, if actually done, should be intended only for important matches with high a requirement of objectivity.”

Tuoitre