The ten individuals arrested by the Hà Tĩnh Police on May 4. The five male players are all sitting on the left side. Photo courtesy of the Hà Tĩnh Police

HÀ NỘI The Việt Nam Football Federation (VFF) on Wednesday announced the indefinite suspension of five players from Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh Football Club, after they were arrested by the police for allegedly organising the illegal use of drugs.

The five players are Đinh Thanh Trung, Dương Quang Tuấn, Nguyễn Trung Học, Nguyễn Ngọc Thắng and Nguyễn Văn Trường.

Trung was the winner of the 2017 Vietnamese Golden Ball, and was the captain of Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh FC before his arrest, while Thắng was called up to the Việt Nam U23 squad for last month's U23 Asian Cup.

The suspension is effective immediately in all national football competitions under the jurisdiction of the VFF.

On May 4, a task force from the Hà Tĩnh Police arrested ten people at Bình Minh Hotel in Hà Tĩnh City, the five players and five women.

Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh promptly terminated the contract with all five players, before their match against Bình Định FC also on Wednesday.

"We have been monitoring this situation for a long time," said a source close to the police.

Despite losing five key players, Hà Tĩnh's coach Nguyễn Thành Công is confident that the suspensions will not affect his team's performance.

"We are ready for all situations," said Công. "We have other players ready to step up. This is professional football and we know what's more important.

"But this is a grave lesson - not just for our club but for everyone. Players who violate rules are to be punished accordingly."

Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh currently sits in tenth place, five points ahead of the relegation zone after their 0-2 loss away to Bình Định on Wednesday. VNS