Centre-back violates national team image rights in gaming ad

By Hoang Nguyen September 4, 2020 | 12:36 am PT

Que Ngoc Hai (in red) wins an aerial duel in an AFF Cup match between Vietnam and Malaysia on December 11, 2018. Photo by VnExpress/Lam Thoa.

Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) gave Que Ngoc Hai a warning for unapproved use of the national team's image for advertising purposes.

On Thursday, VFF said national team captain Que Ngoc Hai has violated its image rights after starring in a promotion video for a gaming company. The latter had used the image of Vietnam’s national football team without VFF approval.

The federation later posted an announcement on its official website, addressing the incident.

"The image rights of the Vietnam national team is under management and the commercial property of VFF. Commercial use of Vietnam’s national team property is not allowed in any form without an official VFF license," it said.

VFF has requested the company terminate its use of and remove all contents related to the national team in its promotion material.

The federation has since called on companies, players and members of the national team to respect its copyright, clearly specified in VFF regulations, to avoid similar violations.

Previously on August 29, Hai uploaded a promotion video for a gaming company to his Facebook account, containing images of Vietnam’s national team at AFF Cup 2018 and World Cup 2022 qualifiers.

After receiving a notice from VFF, Hai has deleted the content from his account. He also posted an apology to fans on Friday afternoon.