10 Banned For Life In South Korean Match-Fixing Scandal

The South Korean soccer associated has moved to ban 10 player for life for their involvement in a match-fixing scandal. The K-League's disciplinary committee met on Friday and late in the day the league announced that they had decided upon the highlight level of punishment for the 10.

According to the investigation, the players accepted money from illegal gamblers and would then intentionally lose matches. Eight of the 10 players played for the same team, Daejeon Citizen, and an 11th player received a ban of five years for his involvement.

"This decision shows our determination to be stern in dealing with corrupt and illegal activities in sports, which regards fair play and fairness as the highest values," Kwak Young-Cheol, head of the disciplinary committee said.

Kim Dong-Hyun is the most hight-profile player to be banned. He was capped six times by the Korean national team and is considered one of the key cogs in the scheme. He was arrested earlier this month for introducing other players to the illegal gamblers. If found guilty in criminal court all 10 players face up to seven years in prison.

The decision comes a month after a former K-League player was found dead of an apparent suicide. He has been implicated in the scheme as well, working as a broker.

The league did say that if the players were cleared in criminal court that they would revisit the punishments and the players could be reinstated. A court date has not been set.