Kuala Lumpur, May 6 (IANS) The Asian Football Confederation has handed hefty bans to a female match official and a player from Mongolia for attempting to manipulate the outcome of an AFC Women’s Champions League 2025/26 (Preliminary Stage) match, taking firm action against the illegal activity by the two persons involved.

The decision to ban the two persons concerned was taken by the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee and announced on Wednesday.

“Following an extensive investigation, the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee has taken firm action against attempted match manipulation by banning Mongolian football official Ms. Munkhtsetseg Batkhuu and player Ms. Namuuna Narmandakh from all football-related activities for ten and five years, respectively,” the AFC informed in a release on Wednesday.

The report said that both individuals were found guilty of conspiring to manipulate the result of the AFC Women’s Champions League 2025/26 (Preliminary Stage) match between Stallion Laguna FC (PHI) and Khovd Western FC (MNG) on August 25, 2025, in violation of Article 66.1 of the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Code.

These sanctions reaffirm the AFC’s zero-tolerance policy against any type of match manipulation and its continued commitment to protecting the integrity of Asian football.

The bans are in accordance with the four-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), which was signed in 2024 to show AFC’s resolve to protect and safeguard the beautiful game in Asia.

As per that MOU, the AFC and IBIA are working closely to detect irregular betting patterns and suspicious activities in football matches across Asia. IBIA, through its Monitoring and Alert Platform, will share real-time data on suspicious betting activity with the AFC, further enhancing the AFC’s abilities to promptly investigate potential match manipulation.

This disciplinary action also resonates with FIFA’s stand against match-fixing, which the sport’s world governing body reiterated by hosting the first FIFA Integrity Summit last year.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has told the first FIFA Integrity Summit that the threat of match manipulation has not gone away and can only be tackled if FIFA and its Member Associations (MAs) join forces and fight it together.

–IANS

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