Banned from the AFC Cup
Champions vow to fight match-fixing punishment
his year was supposed to be the start of a new dawn for Phnom Penh Crown, who had won a record sixth Cambodian league title and therefore qualified for the 2017 AFC Cup. And 2016 was also supposed to signal an end to the darkest period of the club’s history.
In November 2015, the club had taken the extraordinary measure of suspending seven of its players, and four officials, for allegedly taking part in match-fixing. Yok As Ari, Thong Da, Sary Matnorotin, Toch Sok Heng, Ngoy Srin, Sos Suhana and San Usaphea were all disciplined, as were club officers Ngoun Chansothea, Ser Syna, Tes Sophat and youth coach Bouy Dary.
The allegations sprung from voice recordings obtained by the club that apparently revealed an internal plot by Dary and others to influence firstteam players to throw games in an effort to have Swiss coach Sam Schweingruber ousted.
Those responsible were banned by the club days before their championship play-off game, with club president Rithy Samnang explaining: “These suspensions are for gross misconduct and a serious breach of their employment contracts by way of match manipulation and the deliberate harming of Phnom Penh Crown FC’s reputation.”
The Football Federation of Cambodia later found the officials guilty and banned them from the sport temporarily but cleared the players. However, the fallout has continued to blight Phnom Penh Crown and the Asian Football Confederation have barred the club from competing in next year’s AFC Cup qualifiers due to last year’s scandal.
An AFC spokesperson explained the federation’s decision, stating: “We can confirm that the AFC has refused the participation of Phnom Penh Crown FC in the AFC Cup 2017 play-off qualifiers. This is due to four officials affiliated with the club having been found guilty (by the disciplinary committee of the Football Federation of Cambodia in a decision on 29 January 2016) of offences relating to match-fixing.
“The AFC Statutes are very clear on the issue, and