Vietnam Football Federation president Nguyen Trong Hy presents awards to excellent referees

The 2009 football season was more exciting than the previous seasons said V-League and First Division leaders at a meeting in Hanoi on Wednesday.

“Several matches last season were very exciting,” said Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) president Nguyen Trong Hy. “Players played excellently and helped improve the image of Vietnamese football.”

A report discussed at the meeting said each match welcomed an average of more than 10,000 spectators.

“It was not only the effects of the ASEAN Football Federation Cup victory achieved by the national team, but it was also the achievements of a process of investment and construction,” said Tran Quoc Tuan, head of Vietnam’s Tournaments Organizing Board.

“Large crowds of fans flocked to stadiums to support their favorite teams. They contributed to the development of the leagues.”

However, VFF president Hy said there were still problems to address.

The coaching staff of First Division club Quang Ngai directed its players to stop playing during a match against Saigon United amid a dispute with referees.

The Quang Ngai team walked off the field and was later removed from the league and relegated to the Second Division. That means that clubs with wins against the team now lose the points acquired from those victories.

Saigon United lost six points as a result and was thereby also relegated to Second Division. The Ho Chi Minh City team’s managing director Ho Thanh Hai then said at the meeting that the club would file complaints to the Court of Arbitration for Sports.

In response to Hai’s statement, Tran Quoc Tuan, head of Vietnam’s Tournaments Organizing Board, said the leaders of Saigon United should look carefully at league regulations before filing complaints.

Reported by Thanh Luong