Players to take legal action against V. League club after bonus drop

On Feb. 16, HCMC announced it would pay full bonuses for the first leg of V. League 2021, but would cut 90 percent from the second leg. For those that had already received their entire bonuses, after cutting 10 percent, the rest would be deducted from the 2022 season.

This means HCMC players only get 60 percent of their bonuses for the 2021 season.

According to club officials, Covid-19 put an early stop to the 2021 season, in which the second leg was canceled. The club suffered a lot of damage but still paid salaries to players, but the bonus needed to be cut.

After the announcement, a player said: “Other teams are also affected by the pandemic, not just HCMC. We also have to worry about our lives. If they were to cut it, at least make it reasonable. We don’t know how do deal with this, but we may ask a lawyer to step in.”

The fact the club issued the notice one day after finishing player registration for the 2022 V. League also upset the squad.

“We didn’t expect this. Now we can’t move to another team and will have to wait until the mid-season transfer window.”

Currently, HCMC have refused to provide further information. But according to VnExpress research, the club and players are finding a solution together because many don’t accept the bonus reduction. Chances are the bonus would only be reduced by 30 percent.

In the new V. League season, HCMC will not play in the first round, because this year there were only 13 teams left after Than Quang Ninh dissolved. In the second round, they will play SHB Da Nang on March 2.