Several footballers of the national U-23 team have been suspected of match-fixing their game with Laos in group B at the 26th SEA Games. Vietnam defeated Laos 3-1 in the game and topped the group.
Some actions during the game indicate that the team may have been manipulating the match to limit the win for Vietnam to 2-1, instead of 3-1. They include the wide penalty kick by midfielder Trong Hoang when Vietnam was up leading 2-1, and striker Van Quyet praying right after Van Thang’s shot extended the lead to 3-1.

Reasons for match fixing may include making up a loss or manipulating a minimum win based on the betting odds of bookmakers.

According to the information from the football pools, which are banned in Vietnam, the betting score of total goals during the match was 3.5, meaning those who placed for the ‘upper hand’ would win their bet if it ended with 4 goals scored, or more.

It is logical as bettors certainly expect a score with margin of at least 4 goals based on the fact that Vietnam had defeated Timor Leste 3-1 and crushed Brunei 8-0, while Laos lost 3-0 to Timor Leste.

Under these popular expectations, footballers under the influence of bookmakers may wish to fix the match result at 2-1, so that they can make a double win--both pocketing three points for a win, and pocketing money paid out by bookmakers.

Vietnam’s former star striker and now coach of a youth team, Tran Minh Chien, admitted to Tuoi Tre that he didn’t allow his players to watch the second half of the game, as he had recognized problems during the first half.

“I don’t want my players to be negatively influenced by that kind of poor football. As a professional, I can say I don’t believe they were not in good form. Some of the mistakes in positioning they made were unbelievable; even a player of a grassroots team wouldn’t have made them,” Chien concluded.

Besides Trong Hoang, who missed a penalty kick in the 87th minute, Van Quyet has come under speculation for his behavior on the field after Van Thang extended the lead to 3-1 in the 90+3rd minute.

Instead of celebrating with his teammate, Quyet clasped his hands as if to pray. His reactions to missing a goal and celebrating a goal look similar, as in these two photographs.

Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) chairman Nguyen Trong Hy told Tuoi Tre, “He is aware of the suspicion. Rumors may not start from nothing.”

A reliable Tuoi Tre source revealed that the VFF has officially passed the suspected fixing on to investigative police. An investigation is necessary to gather evidence to either punish corrupt footballers, or prove their innocence and stop rumors.

Investigative police had concluded that Vietnamese footballers fixed a match at the 2005 SEA Games in Bacolod, Philippines and as a result, corrupt players Quoc Vuong, Van Quyen, Quoc Anh were imprisoned and banned from professional football for a period.

At the tournament, they manipulated a match to defeat Myanmar with a minimum result of 2-1.

Source: Tuoitre