On the evening of July 30, the Vietnam Billiards & Snooker Federation (VBSF) announced a 6-month suspension penalty from the Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports (ACBS).
VBSF stated that this penalty originated from the Hanoi Open pool tournament held in October 2023. This tournament is not part of the official system of the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) and ACBS.
The Vietnam Billiards & Snooker Federation noted that despite continuously submitting written opinions to Vietnamese sports management agencies, the People's Committee, and the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, requesting a review of the licensing of this tournament and warning about the consequences for the movement and development of Billiards & Snooker in particular and Vietnamese sports in general, the tournament still took place.
Subsequently, to ensure the rights of Vietnamese athletes and the domestic movement, VBSF actively negotiated and committed to ACBS and other international management agencies and temporarily received approval not to apply disciplinary measures.
However, in 2024, the Hanoi Open pool tournament continued to be licensed by the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports.
ACBS announced that it would apply a suspension order to VBSF if the issue was not resolved before May 23, 2024.
On May 3, 2024, VBSF sent an official letter to the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports and the Vietnam Olympic Committee requesting opinions on the tournament that did not comply with international regulations. However, by the deadline, no remedial actions were taken by Vietnamese agencies.
"Over the past year, despite VBSF's early warnings to Vietnamese agencies, as well as discussions, explanations, and lobbying with international federations, on July 13, 2024, ACBS's suspension order against VBSF was still issued. This suspension currently applies to Pool, Snooker, and regional and continental sports events (under ACBS's management). However, if the issue is not definitively resolved, the scope and extent of the suspension could potentially be expanded to other contents and reported to relevant world federations," VBSF emphasized.
VBSF has sent an official letter warning about licensing international Carom tournaments for organizations not part of the official system (such as the Professional Billiard Association - PBA) and not approved by international federations.
It is expected that in August 2024, a tournament under the PBA system will be licensed by the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports. This will be the first tournament held outside of South Korea - the home of this system. This event could escalate the situation and lead to consequences for Vietnam's Carom content.
On July 23, 2024, the Department of Physical Education and Sports sent an official letter to the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports requesting a review of the licensing of tournaments not recognized by world federations.
VBSF is actively working and explaining to international federations to mitigate the consequences of the suspension. Additionally, VBSF is researching and proposing to state sports management agencies to supplement legal regulations to prevent similar cases in sports activities in general and Billiards & Snooker in particular, seriously implementing and further promoting the recommendation for organizations and individuals to comply with international sports regulations.
