Though he wanted to join The Cong, the national squad’s midfielder Minh Duc has agreed to play for Hai Phong club to avoid a suspension.

Midfielder Minh Duc (yellow)

Minh Duc signed a contract with Hai Phong in September 2008. He received three months of salary (VND96 million - $5,650). However, he suddenly joined The Cong club. Both clubs registered Minh Duc as a player for the National Cup 2009.

Hai Phong, The Cong and Minh Duc negotiated for three days to find a solution for this situation. Hai Phong stated it would not let Minh Duc go while The Cong, which also had signed a contract with this player, said it would allow the midfielder to make the decision.

Minh Duc invited a lawyer, who was a legal advisor for the Vietnam Football Federation, to defend his interests. According to the lawyer, the contract that he signed with Hai Phong last September was a memorandum of understanding so it was invalid. Some 30 days after the contract was signed, Hai Phong hadn’t paid VND3 billion in transfer fees, which breaches the latest rules of football transfers.

The footballer said he wanted to play for Hai Phong because he admired coach Vuong Tien Dung. However, the coach left the team after V-League 2008 so Minh Duc went to The Cong.

On February 5, Minh Duc said he didn’t want to join Hai Phong and was willing to be suspended in the first phase of V-League 2009 rather than become a member of The Cong.

However, after a meeting with Hai Phong and The Cong representatives on February 7, he agreed to play for Hai Phong this football season.

VietNamNet/VNE