Asian Billiards Federation "has no basis to ban Vietnamese players"

Today, July 31, the Hanoi Billiards & Snooker Federation sent a document to the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports. The Hanoi Federation said that"There is no legal basis under Vietnamese law or Olympic charter regulations allowing ACBS to ban Vietnamese players from participating in international competitions under the OCA or SEA Games.".

The argument that the Hanoi Federation has put forward is that the ACBS regulations only prohibit their member federations from organizing unlicensed tournaments. Federations that are not part of the ACBS will not be banned. The Vietnam Billiards & Snooker Federation (VBSF) is a member of ACBS, but the Hanoi Billiards & Snooker Federation is not a member of ACBS. The VBSF does not organize the Hanoi Open Pool Championship, or the PBA Hanoi Tour, which are conducted by the Hanoi Federation.

The Hanoi Open Pool Championship is a 9-ball tournament co-organized by the British company Matchroom in October 2023, proposed by the Hanoi Billiards & Snooker Federation for licensing by the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, but not recognized by ACBS. ACBS warned VBSF, claiming that "VBSF's Hanoi branch" had organized this tournament, contrary to regulations. However, the Hanoi Billiards & Snooker Federation affirmed that they are not members of VBSF.

Another basis of the Hanoi Federation is that "decisions to sanction sports organizations according to the IOC, OCA or SEA Games regulations must be implemented on each team and each individual based on specific grounds". "It is impossible to sanction all athletes without specific grounds for their violations", the Hanoi Federation's document stated.

The PBA Tour is a 3-cushion carom tournament that has been held in Korea for several stages since 2019, and is not recognized by the International Billiards Federation (UMB). However, ACBS has not issued any notice or sanction to the Korea Billiards Federation (KBF), although they are also members of ACBS like VBSF. In August 2024, the PBA Tour will take place for the first time outside of Korea, in Hanoi, licensed by the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports.

World Nineball Tour (WNT) tournaments have also taken place in many countries in 2024, such as England, Germany, the United States, China and the Philippines, but the billiards federations of these countries have not been punished. Among them, China and the Philippines are also part of the ACBS.

"This shows that ACBS's actions in interfering with the organization of the PBA Hanoi Tour without their authority," the Hanoi Federation added. "ACBS even banned Vietnamese players from participating in international tournaments, which is without legal basis, unfair and intentional."

The Hanoi Billiards & Snooker Federation was established in 2018, currently chaired by Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Ha. They operate separately from the VBSF, but ACBS considers them to be a branch of the VBSF.

Yesterday, July 30, VBSF issued a press release about ACBS's suspension order."All VBSF officials and athletes are not allowed to participate in or organize any tournaments or events related to billiards and snooker in Asia and internationally, including Asian sports festivals such as Indoor Games and SEA Games, from June 13, 2024 to January 12, 2025," the statement said.

VBSF has repeatedly recommended and warned the Department, the Department of Physical Education and Sports, and the Hanoi Billiards & Snooker Federation, but the Hanoi Open Pool Championship still took place.

The Hanoi Open Pool Championship, part of the WNT system, will take place from 2023, run by Matchroom, operating as a professional billiards federation, independent of the WPA or ACBS. The WNT has signed contracts with most of the top pool players in Vietnam and the world, to organize 9-ball tournaments throughout the year, with prize money much higher than the WPA. The tournament will continue to be held in October 2024, despite the objections of ACBS.

Immediately after the VBSF announcement, Matchroom said they were "disappointed but not surprised" that ACBS would ban Vietnamese players this year, just like last year's threat."ACBS's actions show a disregard for the promotion of billiards," Matchroom said in a statement. "Instead, they have sabotaged a hugely successful and widely popular tournament."

Matchroom said they are working with their legal department and partners to take immediate action against ACBS. And the Hanoi Open Pool Championship 2024 is still going ahead as planned.

According to VBSF on July 30, UMB President Farouk Barki said that the 2024 World Championship taking place in Binh Thuan is not affected by the ban, so it will still take place as scheduled, from September 25 to September 29. Therefore, the world's top carom players such as Tran Quyet Chien or Bao Phuong Vinh will still be able to participate in the tournament under UMB.