Hoang Anh Gia Lai Football Club (HAGL FC) are facing difficulties in conducting legal procedures to repatriate the body of Paollo Madeira Oliveira, a Brazilian-Portuguese forward who died in a recent crash, as the Vietnamese club have failed to contact his mother.

Paollo and two other members of HAGL FC, including assistant coach Duong Minh Ninh and healthcare specialist Dao Trong Tri, were killed in a tragic accident involving one four-seater car and two large trucks in Pleiku City, Gia Lai Province, located in Vietnam’s Central Highlands, on Sunday afternoon.

While waiting for the repatriation procedures to be completed, Paollo’s coffin is being placed at the funeral home at Hoang Anh Gia Lai Hospital in the province.

However, it is impossible for his girlfriend to conduct the authorization procedures to bring his body home because the couple had yet to register their marriage.

Only his father or mother has the right to carry out the authorization procedures, as per the prevailing regulations.

HAGL FC have been unable to contact his mother, who lives in Brazil, while a woman who was said earlier to be his relative and was en route to Vietnam is his girlfriend’s mother.

His girlfriend’s mother had previously flied to Dubai to wait for visa procedures done to enter Vietnam, but then she had to return to Portugal on Monday morning due to incomplete paperwork.

The club now do not know whether his family wishes to repatriate his body to Brazil or Portugal, while his girlfriend’s family wants to bring his body back to Portugal, where he started his football career and was granted a permanent resident card.

Nguyen Tan Anh, managing director at HAGL FC, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Monday afternoon that the club are trying to contact his mother and are working with relevant agencies to facilitate the repatriation.

Previously, HAGL FC chairman Doan Nguyen Duc visited and offered condolences to the bereaved families.

Duc ordered his subordinates to handle all tasks to support the victims and their families, adding that the club will cover all fees related to their funerals and the repatriation.

On Sunday, the fatal collision occurred at 2:20 pm on the Ho Chi Minh Highway section passing through Ia Hru Commune, Chu Puh District, some 80km from the provincial capital city of Pleiku, said Ha Anh Thai, deputy director of the provincial transport department.

At the scene of the crash, the car of the football club, based in Pleiku, was completely crushed as it was sandwiched between the two large trucks.

The accident took place when these football club members were returning to Pleiku after finishing a match on August 11 in Nghe An Province, north-central Vietnam.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai lost 0-1 to hosts Song Lam Nghe An in the final round of the V-League 1.

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