Soccer-AFC issues life bans to two Laos players for match-fixing

Feb 26 (Reuters) - The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has handed life bans to Laos internationals Khampheng Sayavutthi and Lembo Saysana for conspiring to fix a match, Asian soccer's governing body said on Wednesday.

The duo were found to have committed offences under Article 66.1 of the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Code when they attempted to manipulate the result of a game between Hong Kong and Laos on Oct. 5, 2017.

Both players will not be able to take part in any soccer-related activities for life, the AFC said.

"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 said in a statement.

"The latest sanction demonstrates the AFC is fully committed to its zero-tolerance policy on match-fixing and its regulations provide for tough sanctions for match manipulation."

It added that no further details would be disclosed with an investigation ongoing. (Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates)