Seven soccer referees and two sports officials were found guilty Monday of fixing Vietnamese football matches in 2005 and four were sentenced to up to seven years in prison, a court official told AP. The defendants were convicted of "giving, accepting and brokering bribes" worth the equivalent of US$8,440 (€6,200), said presiding judge Le Thi Bao Hang of Hanoi People's Court. The money was paid to the referees by two Vietnamese football clubs — Dong A Thep Pomina and Ton Hoa Sen Can Tho — to avoid relegation to a lower league, Hang said. Four referees were jailed for between four and seven years, while three other referees and two sports officials received suspended sentences, he said.