The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has slapped severe bans to six players for fixing a match in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said Friday.

Pham Van Quyen, the 2003 Vietnam-League Golden Ball winner, was given a four-year ban, the AFC said in a report on its official website.

Also suspended for four years was Le Van Truong while other four footballers Huynh Quoc Anh, Chau Le Phuoc Vinh, Tran Hai Lam and Le Bat Hieu were barred from playing for three years.

The six players were found guilty of rigging the match between Vietnam and Myanmar in the Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines, accepting bribes totalling 82,000 U.S. dollars to ensure the team won merely by a single goal.

Both Quyen and Truong have already each served a year and a half in prison, said the Kuala Lumpur-based AFC.

Meanwhile, vice-captain Le Quoc Vuong, who mastered the plot, is expected to be banned for life. He was fined 26,000 U.S. dollars last January and sentenced to six years in jail by the court, it added.

Source: Xinhua