Football coach gets two-year ban for match fixing attempt

By Hoang Nguyen August 3, 2019 | 10:04 pm PT

Coach Le Anh Tu (R) in the 2019 National Beach Football Championship in July. Photo acquired by VnExpress.

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has banned coach Le Anh Tu for two years for attempting to fix a match.

In the National Beach Football Championship 2019, Tu, coach of Khanh Hoa, tried to get Da Nang coach Mai Van Duc to fix a match in the group stage.

A two-minute leaked record of the conversation between Tu and Duc showed that Tu asked Duc for points in a group stage game in exchange for money, but Duc refused.

Tu has been fined VND6 million ($260) and slapped with a two-year ban from all football-related activities.

The VFF has also fined Duc VND4 million and imposed an 18-month ban for not reporting Tu’s behavior, and for reacting inappropriately with the referee and the organizers. He asked his team not to attend the closing ceremony and receive the prize.

The actions of Tu and Duc have badly affected the image of the tournament and the federation, the VFF said this week.

The National Beach Football Championship 2019 was held in Nha Trang from July 17 to 23. Khanh Hoa were crowned champions after beating Da Nang 3-2 in a penalty shootout in the final. Tu’s action didn’t affect Khanh Hoa’s title because the match fixing attempt was not successful.