KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has confirmed sanctions against five nations banned from competing in the region’s youth tournaments despite objections from FIFA, the game’s governing body.

The five - Iran, Oman, Nepal, Bangladesh and Thailand - were banned from next year’s Asian under-17 championship after fielding ineligible players at last year’s event.

The federations complained the AFC’s testing procedure, using x-rays to determine players’ ages, was illegal under FIFA rules and challenged the ruling.

FIFA upheld the appeals of Iran and Oman, who had qualified for the finals of the World Youth Championship in Trinidad and Tobago, a decision that allowed both nations to participate.

But after a meeting of the AFC’s executive committee, the confederation said they would stand by the decision in May to ban the teams, fine them $10,000 and suspend the team managers for a year.

“The AFC is of the opinion that it was correct in the first instance to use x-ray examinations to identify the players concerned and this is provided for in the tournament regulations,” said Peter Velappan, the AFC’s general secretary.

“The AFC is responsible for football on the continent and should be free to use any tool to determine cheating in our tournaments and this includes x-ray tests.”—Reuters