Suspended national team skipper Sagar Thapa said the footballers alleged of match-fixing will appeal against the life ban imposed by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) calling the decision as one-sided.

The disciplinary committee of the regional football governing body on Friday had slapped Thapa and four other footballers with life ban for their involvement in international match-fixing. Along with Thapa, former coach and international footballer Anjan KC, current national team vice-captain Sandip Rai, goalkeeper Ritesh Thapa and former international Bikash Singh Chhetri were handed life ban from all football-related activities.

The five footballers are accused of taking big amount from international bookies to manipulate results during Nepal’s international matches from 2008 to 2012. The footballers are fighting subversion charges and are currently out on bail.

“AFC has taken a one-sided decision which seems to be based on the report prepared by Nepal Police. We have been repeatedly saying that we are innocent and to prove our innocence we will appeal against the ban inside the 10 days time we have been given,” said Thapa adding the footballers were made scapegoat of football politics.

“Some politically motivated people who can influence AFC are trying to make us scapegoat. They have problem with the Anfa (All Nepal Football Association) leadership and we are grinded in between their political tussle,” said Thapa who, along with coach KC, are claimed to be the key players in the scam.

“The AFC has not heard anything from us. We were supposed to send our documents proving our innocence to AFC on December 2 but they have taken the decision 12 hours after it received them. I don’t think AFC officials read 70 or 80-page documents in a short time frame. They were already prepared for it,” he added.

Nepal Police had arrested the five footballers from Kathmandu on October 15 following a one-year long investigation in collaboration with Sportsradar Security Service and AFC after finding suspicious transaction in their bank accounts. Sportsradar had said it found unusual betting patterns during Nepal’s international games.

Thapa said the footballers were ready to face punishment of any nature if they are proved guilty with evidence. “We are fighting the charges in the Special Court and until the court proves us guilty, we are innocent. If the AFC comes up with evidence to prove our crime then we are ready to face any punishment,” said Thapa who captained Nepal from 2008 before the scandal surfaced.