Soccer--Tajikistan defender Beknazarov gets two-year doping ban

SINGAPORE, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Tajikistan defender Khurshed Beknazarov has been banned for two years for a doping offence during the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on Thursday. Beknazarov, 20, was thrown out of the Games and provisionally suspended after testing positive for the banned stimulant Methylhexaneamine following a match against Singapore on Sept. 14. The AFC Disciplinary Committee released a statement on Thursday announcing it had imposed a two-year ban on Beknazarov, who has the right to appeal. The AFC Disciplinary Committee also announced it had extended the suspension of six Vietnamese players under suspicion for throwing a domestic league game in July. The six Dong Nai players were temporarily suspended from domestic competition following an investigation into match-fixing and the AFC said the ban had now been extended to continental matches as well. Match-fixing has long plagued Vietnamese soccer, with arrests of coaches, bookmakers and players commonplace. Soccer is the most popular sport and gambling is rampant, despite being strictly illegal. (Writing by Julian Linden; Editing by John O'Brien)