HANOI, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Prosecutors in Vietnam have issued their indictments in two major soccer match-fixing scandals and both cases are likely to attend court early next year, a justice official said Tuesday.

    Two trials have been recommended for a total of 22 people in cases that have badly shaken the sport in the country.

    "We sent the files to the court," an official at the People's Supreme Procuracy in Hanoi said.

    "Courts in Vietnam have a maximum of 30 days before taking a decision on a case," he said.

    The first case, the biggest to hit Vietnamese soccer, concerns a match fixing scandal involving eight players in the national under-23 team.

    They are accused of taking bribes from a betting syndicate to fix the scores of a game against Myanmar during the 23rd Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines, in 2005.

    In the second case, 14 people including some referees and coaches are accused of bribery during the 2004-2005 professional V-League championship.

    The trials will be seen as a major step in the process of cleaning up Vietnamese football.

    At least one more case is under investigation regarding the 2000-2001 V-League, the first professional championship in the country since 1975.

    Experts and police have estimated that more than a billion dollars was illegally staked on fixed matches in the country, with 200 million transferred to foreign countries and regions, mainly Hong Kong of China, Macao of China and Singapore.