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HANOI — Vietnam’s soccer federation has banned nine players for life for fixing an Asian club match, part of efforts to win back dwindling confidence of fans and rebuild a reputation tarnished by bribery scandals.

The former Vissai Ninh Binh players received jail terms of up to 30 months in August for rigging an away match against Malaysia’s Kelantan this year in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup.

The scandal was one of many in recent years in a country notorious for illicit gambling and with one of the world’s worst track records for match-fixing. It led to Vissai Ninh Binh’s withdrawal from the Vietnamese top flight amid fears league games could also have been fixed.

Such measures are rare in Vietnam, which routinely hands down harsh penalties to criminals but has given relatively lenient punishments for throwing games.

The Vietnam Football Federation announced the bans on Thursday and has been working with police to investigate suspects and has previously suggested legalising small-stakes betting to curb the problem.

Dinh Khai, a prominent local soccer pundit, described the bans as a good first step. — Reuters.