The Vietnamese football team has been hit with multiple lawsuits filed to FIFA.

The backstage issues of Đông Á Thanh Hóa are showing signs of intensifying, with the list of complaints sent to FIFA steadily increasing.

According to the latest update from FIFA's Dispute Resolution Chamber, the players who have filed lawsuits against the Thanh Hóa club have reached a total of four, and the ban on registering new players has been extended since January 12, 2026.

Specifically, from December 12, 2025, FIFA recorded an additional complaint regarding unpaid financial obligations. By January 12, 2026, another new complaint was added. Just two days later, another claimant successfully filed a complaint, raising the total number of cases under FIFA’s consideration to four. FIFA has not disclosed the players' identities, but it is likely these are foreign players who represented Thanh Hóa during the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons.

The crisis for the club began at the end of August when Chairman Cao Tiến Đoan was arrested, resulting in the club’s accounts being frozen. Financial transactions were halted, leaving Thanh Hóa in a deadlock, and accumulated complaints quickly turned into a penalty banning player registrations for three consecutive periods, which can only be lifted once all debts are settled.

The consequences on the field followed immediately. Many key players left one after another, including Quế Ngọc Hải and Võ Nguyên Hoàng who recently transferred to Đà Nẵng. Prior to that, Ninh Bình swiftly signed Nguyễn Thái Sơn, Nguyễn Ngọc Mỹ, and Lê Văn Thuận,a trio from the Vietnam U23 team who just won the bronze medal at the 2026 U23 Asian Championship, then loaned Ngọc Mỹ back to Thanh Hóa.

Selling off key players has helped Thanh Hóa generate some cash flow for the second phase of the V-League. If the club can resolve its debts and have the ban lifted, they still have a chance to avoid relegation in the 2025/26 season. Currently, Thanh Hóa has only 8 points after 10 matches, ranking 11th out of 14 teams.

Đông Á Thanh Hóa is a well-known name in Vietnamese football. The club has been a prominent figure in recent years, highlighted by achievements such as winning the National Cup in 2023 and 2023/24, as well as finishing 4th in the 2023 V-League season.

However, due to financial difficulties, Thanh Hóa has struggled in recent seasons. The increasing number of lawsuits and the tightening of the registration ban paint a bleak picture for the club. The question now is not only how Thanh Hóa will manage to cope, but also whether the number of complaints has reached its lowest point or will continue to grow.