On February 26, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) passed down a lifetime ban on two players of the Laos national team who were found guilty of fixing matches. The two players, Khampheng Sayavutthi and Lembo Saysana, were found in violation of article 66.1 of the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Code.

“Both players were found guilty of conspiring to manipulate the result of an international match between the Hong Kong and Laos national teams on October 5, 2017,” the AFC’s stated. Hong Kong won that match, defeating Laos by a final score of 4-0.

In assigning the lifetime ban, the AFC restated its firm committment to combat corruption in sports. “The latest sanction demonstrates that the AFC is fully committed to its zero-tolerance policy on match-fixing and that its regulations provide for tough sanctions for match manipulation.”

The AFC also stated that they had informed the Lao Football Federation (LFF) and the international football governing body, FIFA, of the lifetime ban. No word was provided as to whether the two had any recourse to appeal the lifetime suspensions.