LAOS

Twenty-two players and officials from Laos and Cambodia have been handed life bans in one of Asian football’s biggest mass punishments for match-fixing. The Asian Football Confederation said the action follows an investigation that started in 2014, and that it would seek to have the bans extended worldwide. Fifteen of those banned are current or former players of the Lao national side or Vientiane-based Lao Toyota FC, the AFC said. Details of the games involved were not released, but four of the players had been provisionally suspended during the AFC Solidarity Cup involving Laos in November. Laos played three matches at the Solidarity Cup, beating Sri Lanka 2-1 and Mongolia 3-0, and losing 4-1 to Macau.