The Vietnamese national U-23 men’s football team are under ‘martial law’ for two days to better prepare for their match with Malaysia on June 2 and to keep themselves away from match fixing plots at the 28th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games taking place in Singapore.
The players are not allowed to use mobile phones today and the competition day tomorrow, said Duong Vu Lam, head of the Vietnamese football delegation in Singapore.
This decision helps the team further focus on competition, especially after the discovery of a match fixing plot related to Timor-Leste before their game with Malaysia on May 30.
Orlando Marques Henriques Mendes, technical director of the Football Federation of Timor-Leste, was captured on Friday together with three others, including Moises Natalino de Jesus, 32, who is a former Timor-Leste football player; Singaporean Rajendran Kurusamy, 55; and his associate, Indonesian national Nasiruddin, 52, according to the Straits Times.
Orlando allegedly received $15,000 from Rajendran, Nasiruddin, Moises, and another unknown person as a reward to arrange for the Timor-Leste football team to lose in their opening match against Malaysia, the Straits Times reported.
“[The ‘martial law’] is actually a regulation approved before the tournament pursuant to the public recommendation the organizing board of the 28th SEA Games and the security forces of Singapore announced during a meeting on May 28,” Lam said.
“The players are also recommended not to come into contact with strangers during their time in Singapore.”
After a 6-0 win over Brunei on May 29, the Vietnamese players were given a free May 30 to relax.
On May 31, they had a training session to practice attacking along the two wings before passing the ball to strikers in the middle to score.
They also trained defensive formations against high-flying assaults which are the style of their Malaysian rivals.
On a relevant note, Vietnamese defender Huynh Tan Tai has to say goodbye to the 28th SEA Games after suffering a foot bone fracture following the match with Brunei.
Tai needs at least a month in a plaster cast and another month for recovery.
The 2015 SEA Games will officially open on June 5 and close on June 16.
Vietnamese players take a bath in ice water. Photo: Tuoi Tre
Duong Vu Lam (R) and Toshiya Miura, the head coach of the Vietnamese national U-23 football team. Photo: Tuoi Tre
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