FIFA has banned Khanh Hoa Football Club from signing new players after it failed to pay a French player, Mamadou Guirassy, after it ended his contract, VN Express has reported.
Of note, Guirassy, was due to be paid out three months’ salary, about US$19,500, but the club’s bank accounts were frozen over unpaid taxes. These were eventually cleared, however, by that time Guirassy’s visa had lapsed and a renewal had not gone through so the bank was unable to process the transaction. At this point with fines and interest the club was up for an additional US$8,400. It’s still not clear when this will be paid.
This speaks to the incongruity between Vietnamese business practices and international business norms and how costly this can be. At least two other clubs, Thanh Hoa FC and Hai Phong FC, have also been taken to court by FIFA and forced to pay out a combined US$670,000.
Similarly, just last week, VietJet lost a lawsuit in the UK after it failed to hand back four jets after its lease was terminated.See: The VietJet UK Court Ruling for Foreign Firms in Vietnam: Unpacked