HANOI (VNS)  — Referees and assistants have been suspended until the end of the V-League's first-leg matches after their misjudgements in the National Premier League recently.

Referee Phung Quoc Quan gave a goal to Song Lam Nghe An in a match against Hung Vuong An Giang last week when it was scored from off-side. Later, he only gave a yellow card to defender Tran Dinh Dong, whose violent strike broke midfielder Nguyen Anh Hung's leg.

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) said Dong must receive a red card. Quan's assitant Tran Thanh Liem was said to be involved in the first mistake. Both of them will be rested until April 20, which means they will be barred from six matches.

Another referee, Nguyen Van Kien, received a similar punishment for ignoring many violent strikes by teams Hai Phong and Da Nang last week. His assistant, Truong Duc Chien, too was sidelined for two matches.

Nguyen Hai Huong, the head of VFF's Referee Councils, said: "These bans are pretty heavy and have been imposed so that referees and assistants focus and do their best in matches later."— VNS