The winner of the Vietnam Golden Whistle 2009 will receive 30 million dong (over $1700) from the Vietnam Football Federation.

One of the two FIFA-acredited referee in Vietnam, Duong Van Hien.

There are four criteria VFF uses to choose the best referees of the year: officiating at least 15 matches, having up to two matches with professional marks of less than eight, having no disciplinary record, and well obeying professional football rules.

Based on these criteria, the VFF selected five nominees for the outstanding referee titles: Phung Dinh Dung from Hanoi, Duong Van Hien from HCM City, Tran Khanh Hung from An Giang, Vo Minh Tri from HCM City and Vo Quang Hoa from Khanh Hoa.

The five candidates for the outstanding referee assistants who will compete for the Golden, Silver and Bronze flags are Tran Minh Duc from Long An, Nguyen Ngoc Ha from Hai Duong, Tran Thanh Liem from Quang Nam, Nguyen Hoang Minh from Dong Nai and Chau Duc Thanh from Can Tho.

Experts and sports journalists will select the winners of the Vietnam Golden, Silver and Bronze Whistle and Flags 2009.

The winner of the Golden Whistle title will receive 30 million dong, and 20 million and 10 million will go to the silver and bronze whistle winners. The prize money for the Golden, Silver and Bronze Flag winners will be 20, 12 and 8 million dong.

The best referees and referee assistants will be announced at a ceremony reviewing the 2009 football season on September 9.

PV