El Salvador hands life ban to 14 footballers

SAN SALVADOR - Fourteen footballers from El Salvador's national team have been handed life bans for match fixing.

Another three players have been banned for up to 18 months while four more remain under investigation.

Friday's announcement follows the provisional suspension of 22 players by the El Salvador Football Federation (Fesfut) last month, pending investigations into alleged rigging.

According to Fesfut, the probe had focused on four matches - including a 3-0 loss to Paraguay last February and a 5-0 loss to Mexico in 2011.

"At the moment we are picking out the people who chose the wrong path," Fesfut president Carlos Mendes Cabezas said during a press conference.

"The investigation is going to continue. This is a battle that cannot end."

The players banned are: Luis Anaya, Osael Romero, Ramon Sanchez, Christian Castillo, Miguel Granada, Miguel Montes, Dagoberto Portillo, Dennis Alas, Darwin Bonilla, Ramon Flores, Alfredo Pacheco, Mordecai Henriquez, Marvin Gonzalez and Reynaldo Hernandez.