There have been many Vietnamese players who could not control themselves, and lost their entire careers to negative shadows such as match-fixing, drugs, or violence on the field...
Vietnamese football has been wearing a professional shirt for nearly two decades, but there are still many outstanding problems that cannot be permanently eliminated, drowning many generations of talented players and eroding the trust of fans.
MASS FIXING CASES
For Vietnamese fans, the name Bacolod is a pain that can never be forgotten. Because Bacolod (Philippines) is the place that witnessed one of the biggest match-fixing scandals in the history of Vietnamese football, dragging a series of star players... to court. Vietnamese football lost a generation of talent at the peak of their careers. The late coach Alfred Riedl had to exclaim in pain: "They committed a crime, trampling on the best values of football". And not only him, the trust of fans was also completely shattered, when the famous idols of that time were involved in corruption.
Dinh Thanh Trung is one of five Ha Tinh team players arrested for drug use.
Nine years after the Bacolod scandal, the specter of match-fixing has returned. This time, it was the turn of nine Ninh Binh Club players to be convicted of "gambling" and "organizing gambling" in the match between Ninh Binh and Kelantan (Malaysia) in the 2014 AFC Cup group stage. Thanks to the intentional fixing of the score 3-2 to win a bet of VND800 million, a series of Ninh Binh players were sentenced to prison. This was also the big case that put an end to Ninh Binh team on the map of Vietnamese football. Also in 2014, it was the turn of six Dong Nai players to collude in match-fixing to make illegal profits and all were caught up in the law, leaving their football careers unfinished.
It was thought that many painful lessons from the seniors would help warn the next generation. But in the first 5 months of 2024 alone, Vietnamese football had to bitterly witness 2 new scandals. 5 players of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Club were arrested for fixing the score in a match in the first division. The players were prosecuted under Article 321 of the Penal Code for gambling. The 5 defendants discussed and agreed to place bets on football betting websites and then played below their ability to let their opponents win the match. Recently, Ha Tinh Police arrested 10 subjects for organizing illegal drug use, confiscating some related evidence; including 5 players of Ha Tinh team. It was shocking that among those 5 players were the idol of Vietnamese football in terms of lifestyle and ability - Vietnam Golden Ball Dinh Thanh Trung and U.23 player Nguyen Ngoc Thang who just competed in the 2024 U.23 Asian Cup.
DRUGS - THE NIGHTMARE OF GENERATIONS
There are many forms and states of corruption in football: match-fixing, cheating, collusion, match-fixing, use of stimulants, banned substances (including drugs). Before 5 Ha Tinh players were arrested for illegal drug use at the BM Hotel (Ha Tinh) on the night of May 4, there were players (even very famous ones) who lost their careers because of "befriending" the "white fairy". In the late 1990s - a talented midfielder of SLNA only got involved in drugs and went down the road to fame. In 2007, a young SLNA player was discovered using drugs in his room. In July of the same year, security forces caught a talented midfielder of a football team in Hanoi illegally storing drugs. He was arrested when he hid 10 synthetic drug pills on his person while on the 2nd floor of the New Century nightclub (Hanoi). In 2008, five players from Hai Phong Cement were found using synthetic drugs at Friendly bar to celebrate their third place finish in the V-League. Not to mention many young players had their contracts terminated by their clubs due to drug use.
The end of football players who fall into drugs, in Vietnam in particular and in the world in general, is a series of days of free fall. Some have to give up their football career early, some have lost everything, gone bankrupt, and had to spend a lot of money to get rid of their addiction. There have been many obvious lessons from the past. It is a pity that the 5 Ha Tinh players did not have time to learn, or even though they knew, they could not control themselves and fell into the path of sin. This is a warning for Vietnamese football players. Be alert to all temptations and take care of your career, for yourself and your family first. Because once you have "got into the red ink", no matter what the reason, the journey to rebuild your life will be extremely arduous. (to be continued)
What did the coach of Ha Tinh team say?
After 5 players were arrested, Ha Tinh team lost to Binh Dinh in round 16 of V-League 2023 - 2024. Coach Nguyen Thanh Cong of Ha Tinh team said that the incident of 5 players being arrested for drug use would be a warning to everyone: "Every incident is the same, this is professional football and we are all adults. We know what is more important. For us, the team is the most important. Regardless of the club, the most important thing is still the team. Any individual who violates the regulations will be punished by the club. This is an expensive lesson for us and other teams as well."
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dao-duc-cau-thu-viet-nam-va-noi-am-anh-tieu-cuc-185240512194844717.htm
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