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The football world governing body FIFA hammered a former El Salvador coach for two years for offering players money to perform well in a World Cup qualifier, thus help his native Honduras.
FIFA ethics committee found Ramon Maradiaga guilty of “bribery and corruption and failure to report the plot.
El Salvador’s players were offered cash by a third party to win in a qualifier against Canada in September 2016.
A big defeat risked helping Canada progress ahead of Honduras and It’s against FIFA rules for third parties to offer cash incentives to teams.
However, El Salvador players revealed the cash offer at a news conference before the game in Vancouver.
Maradiaga captained Honduras at the 1982 World Cup, the first time the Central American qualified for the tournament.
He was also fined $20,000 for the offence.
Hondura however progressed from the regional qualifying group with 0-0 with Mexico in its final game. This prevented Canada from advancing despite a 3-1 win over El Salvador.
Honduras ultimately did not qualify for the World Cup in Russia, losing an intercontinental playoff against Australia last November.
A previous match-fixing scandal forced El Salvador to rebuild its national team for the 2018 qualifying program.
FIFA imposed a range of lifetime bans and other suspensions on players who were involved in fixing games, including a 5-0 loss to Mexico at the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
