VFF lets Thanh move to Ninh Binh

Football star Mai Tien Thanh is free to sign with any club he chooses, paving the way for his transfer from Halida Thanh Hoa to First Division side Vinakansai Ninh Binh a move that has been mired in controversy for weeks the Viet Nam Football Federation (VFF) announced on Monday.

Thanh”s move from the V-League club to Ninh Binh was referred to the national footballing body following a dispute over compensation payments to his former club.

Thanh Hoa claimed to have re-signed Thanh in 2005 for a further five years, and he featured in their players” list for this season. But Thanh refused to play, saying that his original contract with the club, signed 11 years ago when he was an apprentice, had expired on January 1 and that he had not re-signed with Thanh Hoa.

Although the VFF did not state whether Thanh”s signing with Ninh Binh was legitimate, his lawyer, Le Van Kien, said: “If our contract is not the legal one, the result would be different.”

Kien added that the alleged new contract with Thanh Hoa had not been properly endorsed and that there were also errors over salary payments, which made it worthless.

Thanh Hoa have now agreed to remove Thanh”s name from this year”s players” list, leaving the 22-year-old midfielder free to sign with another club without the need to pay a transfer fee.

“At present, Thanh can join any football team he wants but that team will have to pay Thanh Hoa for training him,” VFF deputy chairman Duong Nghiep Khoi said.

The ruling means Thanh is free to honour the VND2.5 billion (US$156,000) contract he signed with Ninh Binh on January 3. He is expected to start playing for his new side in the second half of the season, which kicks off on April 29.

The VFF stated however that Thanh Hoa had to be compensated for training Thanh because he is under 23.

According to VFF regulations, Ninh Binh must compensate Thanh Hoa to the tune of VND372 million ($23,200). However, the club is demanding around VND900 million ($56,250).

“I want to make it clear that we will not pay Thanh Hoa VND900 million. We have offered VND372 million, the sum stipulated by the VFF. If Thanh Hoa don”t agree, we can settle for a little bit more, but certainly not VND900 million,” said Ninh Binh executive director Nguyen Quoc Phong.

VFF to blame?

The VFF has been criticised for accepting Thanh Hoa”s player list with Thanh”s name on it while the dispute over the validity of his contract raged on. But Khoi defended the federation”s actions.

“We received the list but Thanh”s predicament was the result of his not following all the necessary procedures. He also did not sign the registry book,” said Khoi.

Despite the uncertainty over Thanh”s move to Ninh Binh, he refused to play for Thanh Hoa when called upon to do so by coach Tran Van Phuc.

“I did not hear anything from the VFF. Thanh did not play for us because he did not want to, not because of what the VFF had said. If they did not accept him [on our players” list] then they should have informed us,” said Phuc.

Following the debacle surrounding Thanh”s move to Ninh Binh, the VFF plans to scrutinise the contracts of all professional players.

“Any mistakes or illegitimate contracts will be corrected according to the VFF”s regulations. We hope teams and players learn lessons from this case so that we don”t have any more squabbles in the future,” said Khoi.

VNS