Vietnamese referee banned for changing his mind

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A referee in the Vietnamese football league has been suspended for four matches for awarding a goal and then changing his mind, local media reported.

Referee Nguyen Xuan Hoa was reprimanded by the country's football federation for bowing to pressure from Danang, whose furious players stormed off the field after conceding a goal to Dong Tam Long An last week.

The Danang team returned 20 minutes later after Hoa reversed his decision and went on to win the game 3-2.

In a meeting with the federation's disciplinary committee, referee Hoa insisted no one had influenced his decision, the Thanh Nien Daily reported.

He was suspended for four matches, however, and his assistants banned for three for failing to mention the incident in their match reports.

Danang's coach was fined $495 (252 pounds) and banned for four games for interrupting the match.

(Reporting by Martin Petty, editing by Ossian Shine)