The organizer of V.League, Vietnam’s premier football tournament, has announced a new rule that requires players to pass random drug tests starting the next round on April 10.

Vietnam Professional Football (VPF) will coordinate with Vietnam Sports Hospital and the Forensic Science Institute to conduct the tests, it said at a press conference in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday.
Accordingly, in each V.League match, each team will have two players chosen randomly to have their urine samples tested. That means a total of 28 players from 14 teams will be tested every round.
Players tested positive for drugs will face punishment from the league’s organizer, VPF said without elaborating.
The organizer also said it has bought insurance for players and referees for the first time, with total premium fees of VND300 million (US$13,400) for players and VND200 million for referees. The move aims to ease financial burdens in cases of injuries.
It also cooperated with the Switzerland-based sport data analyzer Sportradar to detect shady matches to tackle match-fixing.
From the third round on March 5, V.League referees were also equipped with vanishing spray to be used as temporary marker for free kicks.