Chief coach Henrique Calisto has called up Hanoi ACB Club half-back Pham Thanh Luong, who is serving a three-match suspension in the First Division Tournament handed down by the Vietnam Football Federation, to the national squad.

Half-back Thanh Luong (red).

Calisto previously declared he would not call up players of Hanoi ACB and Binh Duong to play in the friendly match against Olympiakos on May 14 because these teams had to play in the AFC Cup. However, he called up Hanoi ACB’s Pham Thanh Luong because Hanoi ACB was booted from the AFC Cup 2009 after a 0-7 defeat against Malaysia’s Kedah club.

In the First Division Tournament, Thanh Luong was suspended for three matches and assessed a fine of VND5 million for insulting the major referee in the match between his club and Tay Ninh two weeks ago. Under the VFF’s suspension, Thanh Luong will not be able to play football again until the beginning of the second stage.

“VFF’s penalty on Thanh Luong is only in effect for the First Division Tournament. He can join the national squad if coach Calisto wants to have him,” VFF’s official Nguyen Trong Giap explained.

In news related to the national squad, the two football stars Cong Vinh and Minh Phuong will play in the match against Olympiakos.

PV