REPRIEVE FOR BANNED TRIO

The Discipline Department decided to remove the ban based on their good behaviour, their requests for a reduction in penalties and also the guarantees given by their respective clubs Song Lam Nghe An, The Cong and Hoang Anh Gia Lai.

The three players will be allowed to play in domestic competitions but will still be barred from international matches until they get clearance from FIFA.

The VFF explained that Quoc Vuong and Van Truong will be on a six-month probationary period while Van Quyen is on probation until the end of the year.

But the bans will be put back in place if they are involved in wrongdoing during their probation.

“We worked very hard and investigated each case extensively to know by heart all the essential information regarding these players before deciding to lift the bans,” said Nguyen Hai Huong, head of the Disciplinary Department.

“Honestly, some of us were still worried before the final decision was made, but in the end we agreed to lift the bans after listening to arguments about the progress the players made thus far in their punishment.

“Quoc Vuong is a former national player who contributed a lot to the national football team. When he was in jail, Quoc Vuong showed good behaviour and demonstrated regret about his role in the scandal, which played a key role in the commutation of his sentence.
“Moreover, we came to the decision after receiving guarantee letters from major-general Hoang Anh Xuan, general director of the Viettel Company who is the sponsor of the The Cong team and major-general Ho Tri Liem, head of the club.

The match-fixing scandal in the 2005 SEA Games in the Philippines involved seven members of the U23 national team.

In the meantime, the VFF also reduced an 18-month suspension of Nguyen Xuan Thanh, a player with Ha Noi ACB team, to 13 months.

He was penalised for illegal drug use and is expected to play again this season.