The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has found two Laos national soccer team players guilty of match-fixing and banned them for life.
The AFC‘s disciplinary and ethics committee announced on February 26 that Khampheng Sayavutthi and Lembo Saysana were found guilty of “conspiring to manipulate the result” of an international friendly match between Hong Kong and Laos that took place in Hong Kong on October 5, 2017.
Both players will not be able to take part in any soccer-related activities for life, the AFC said, adding that the Lao Football Federation has been informed of the decisions and the AFC will request FIFA to extend the bans worldwide in due course.
The AFC did not disclose further details, citing the need to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation.
It is not the first time Lao football has come under scrutiny over alleged match-fixing.
The country’s Lao Toyota FC was banned from the 2018 AFC Cup for “arranging or influencing” the outcome of matches in the 2015 and 2016 tournament.
Laos ranked 188th in the world out of 210 teams by FIFA.
