The disagreement over the stadium fees to stage the friendly game between Arsenal and the Vietnamese national team in Hanoi on July 17 may end when the relevant sides sign a contract today.

Authorities of the national stadium My Dinh in Hanoi, who demanded a fee of VND1.5 billion (US$72,100) to host the high-profile match, have lowered the fees to VND800 million ($38,500).

Yet this is still much higher than the normal fee of VND200 – 300 million to stage a game there. My Dinh Stadium has 40,000 seats.

Nguyen Lan Trung, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), said he would sign a deal with My Dinh director Can Van Nghia this morning to organize the game.

“We all agree on the fee at VND800 million,” Trung said.

However, both sides will also need time to negotiate other minor details for the contract, including the number of VIP tickets saved for the stadium authorities.

Stadium officials asked for 300 VIP tickets and 110 out of 220 seats in the business-style hall on the stage to watch the game.

It is illogical to save half the seats for My Dinh authorities when the remaining is for the VFF, the two main sponsors, Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Eximbank, and the visitor Arsenal, according to the VFF.

Le Hung Dung, Eximbank chairman, denied blame from fans for the expensive ticket prices, including VND400,000 – VND700,000 – VND1 million – VND1.5 million.

“This match is not aimed at earning money at all. Otherwise, the ticket prices would need to be raised by 60 percent to be able to break even,” Dung added.

In a meeting with local media last Friday, My Dinh chief Nghia excused his extortionate fee of VND1.5 billion by saying that Arsenal, “will never agree to a change in the venue stadium.” He even added he didn’t care if the much-anticipated match was canceled due to disagreement over the stadium fees.

In a relevant note, the VFF has sent a document requesting the English Premier League club Arsenal to include the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos in the Vietnam map on advertising for the upcoming match.

The issue of the islands has emerged as a sensitive topic in Vietnam, as they are also claimed by other nations.