The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Friday imposed a life ban on Nepali footballers including skipper Sagar Thapa for their involvement in match-fixing.

Along with Thapa, former coach and Nepal international Anjan KC, vice-captain of national team Sandip Rai, goalkeeper Ritesh Thapa and former international footballer Bikash Singh Chhetri were banned for life from all football-related activities by the regional governing body.

Nepal Police had arrested the five players for their alleged involvement in international match fixing in October before they were released on bail by the Special Court. All five footballers are fighting subversion charges. Skipper Thapa and KC are said to be the key players in the scam.

The arrest of the footballers, who are alleged to have taken hefty amounts from international bookies to manipulate the results during Nepal’s international games from 2008 to 2012, followed a yearlong investigation in collaboration with Sportsradar Security Service, AFC and Nepal Police.

Sportsradar monitors and analyses the worldwide betting market for suspicious betting patterns.

“Four Nepal players and one official were banned for life for match-fixing offences. Official Anjan KC and the four players were found guilty of violating Articles 62 and 69 of the AFC Disciplinary Code in relation to various friendly international A team fixtures during the period,” the AFC said in a statement.