A lifetime ban on Pham Van Quyen (R) and Quoc Vuong (L) has been lifted.

Pham Van Quyen, Le Quoc Vuong and Le Van Truong, who were banned from football for their involvement in a match-fixing scandal in 2005, have been granted permission to play again.

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

According to the decision, the three players can play in national matches again from January 23 but will still be banned from international matches until FIFA’s approval.

VFF said Vuong and Truong would undergo another six month trial period while Quyen’s trial time would continue until the end of this year. The bans will be put back in place if they are involved in wrongdoing during their trial period.

The three may play tomorrow in the opener of the National Cup competition.

Additionally, VFF has reduced the 18 month suspension of Nguyen Xuan Thanh from Hanoi CB to 13 months. He was penalized for illegal drug use and is expected to play again this season.

Reported by Thuy Khanh