NYON: UEFA has banned six members of Malta's under-21 team for match-fixing offences, with two players banished from soccer for life.

The investigation related to March 2016 qualifiers for the European Under-21 Championship against Montenegro and the Czech Republic.

UEFA imposed lifetime bans on Emanuel Briffa and Kyle Cesare for acting in a "manner that is likely to exert an unlawful or undue influence on the course and/or result of a match or competition with a view to gaining an advantage for himself or a third party."

The other four players were suspended for "not immediately and voluntarily informing UEFA" about being approached about fixing.

UEFA banned Samir Arab for two years, Ryan Camenzuli for 18 months and both Llywelyn Cremona and Luke Montebell for a year each.