Asia
Two Laos Soccer Players Get Life Bans for Match-fixing
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has issued life bans to two Laos national team footballers, Khampheng Sayavutthi and Lembo Saysana, for match-fixing.
A disciplinary panel banned the pair from taking part in “any football-related actvities for life,” the AFC said in a statement, adding it will ask global football body Fifa to extend the bans worldwide.
The AFC did not reveal details of the alleged match rigging to avoid jeopardising an ongoing probe. But it said the tough sanction reflects a “zero-tolerance policy on match-fixing.”
It is not the first time Laos football has come under scrutiny over alleged match-fixing. Top team Lao Toyota FC were banned from the 2018 AFC Cup for “arranging or influencing” the outcome of matches in the 2015 and 2016 tournament.
