The fight for Vietnam’s television football rights has so far produced a lot of heat and no promise of a solution short of a lawsuit in court.
Yesterday the three parties involved VFF, VPF and AVG exchanged documents and positions to confirm their legal stance.
Chairman of Vietnam’s football governing body, VFF, Nguyen Trong Hy Friday sent an official dispatch to VPF -- a marketing, organizing and sales authorized partner of the VFF -- to notify it that the TV exclusive rights belong to the digital TV service provider AVG in conformance to the deal approved in late 2010.
Receiving the document in the morning, VPF Board of Directors vice chief Nguyen Duc Kien signed a dispatch of feedback and sent it to the VFF, announcing the deal between VFF and AVG is null and void as it violates the current law of Vietnam.
“As a partner, VPF is committed to observing the legal rights and responsibility of the VFF which go in accordance with the law,” the feedback dispatch writes.
VPF, however, notifies that the VFF violates Article 53 of the Sports Law and Article 12 of the Governmental Decree 112/2007/ND-CP promulgated in 2007, which stipulate that the TV rights belong to all 14 member clubs of Super League whose previous name was V-League.
VFF has no legal grounds to assert its status as the unique owner of the rights and thus, the deal in which the VFF granted exclusive TV rights to AVG for 20 years, starting in 2012, is invalid.
VFF didn’t consult its member clubs before signing the agreement, according to the dispatch of the VPF.
After denying the legal status of the 20-year deal, VPF signed an agreement to sell the TV rights of the 2012 Super League to the Vietnam Television (VTV) for VND7 billion (US$333,000) -- a billion dong more than the value of the VFF-AVG deal in the season.
In the meantime, VFF vice chairman Le Hung Dung noted VPF seemed to have been hasty in its decision to annul the VFF deal and transfer the rights to VTV.
It’s not good at all if the involved parties have to settle the issue in court though it’s a possible solution, Dung said.
Vuong Bich Thang, chief of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training under the government, agreed with the idea that the VPF was a bit rash in signing a deal with VTV.
Official dispatches exchanged between VFF and VPF concerning the TV rights of the Super League 2012 (Photo: Tuoi Tre)
Print
