February 26 – Two Laos internationals have been handed life bans for alleged match-fixing by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Khampheng Sayavutthi and Lembo Saysana were found guilty of “conspiring to manipulate” the result in a 4-0 friendly defeat to Hong Kong last October.
A disciplinary panel banned the pair from taking part in “any football-related activities for life,” the AFC said in a statement, adding it will ask 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 sanction reflects a “zero-tolerance policy on match-fixing”.
Ranked 188th in the world, Laos has a weak footballing infrastructure but the population are football-mad and the latest case is reported to have shocked fans in the communist-run country.
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