FIFA has banned 63 footballers from the sport for life

63 professional footballers have been officially banned for life by FIFA, and some of the reasons for the punishments are stunning to say the least.

Like with anything, football has its own set of rules, which can vary depending on which federation and governing body rules each match.

Referees have yellow and red cards at their disposal, which they hand out as they see fit during matches.

Of course, an accumulation of yellow cards leads to a suspension in most leagues, while a red card often results in a three-match ban for a player.

Then, some incidents warrant a more extreme punishment.

For example, Eric Cantona was banned for nine months after kung-fu kicking a Crystal Palace fan while playing for Manchester United in 1995.

Rio Ferdinand was banned for eight months for missing a drug test in 2003, while Luis Suarez was banned for four months for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup.

But some players have even been banned for life for various reasons.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino (Credit:Getty)

As reported by GiveMeSport, 63 players have been handed lifetime bans by FIFA, the international governing body of association football.

Among the 63 players is Mursyid Effendi, who was banned for arguably the strangest reason of all.

Several players on the list have been banned because of match-fixing, aggression towards referees and doping, but what Effendi did was blatant.

Back in 1998, the Indonesian was given a life ban from international football by FIFA after he deliberately scored an own goal for Indonesia in their group stage match of the Tiger Cup against Thailand.

Effendi, who was a defender, saved the ball, turned around and smashed it into his own goal, making the score 3-2 to Thailand.

It was thought that part of the motivation for his actions was the fact that the group winners would face hosts Vietnam - a 'strong' side - while the runners-up would play against Singapore - a 'weaker' team - in the semi-final.

As it turned out, Indonesia lost in the final four, and Singapore went on to win the tournament.

63 players banned for life by FIFA

Dominique Taboga and Sanel Kuljic - Match fixing (both) and blackmail (Kuljic)

Danijel Madaric Match - Match fixing

Jonathan Bachini - Doping

Seidath Tchomogo, Ibrahim Kargbo and Hellings Mwakasungula - "Match manipulation"

Ahmad Al Saleh - Aggression shown to an official

Ramez Dayoub and Mahmoud El Ali - Match fixing

Vathana Keodouangdeth, Odien Syharlad, Sitthideth Khanthavong, Anousay Noyvong, Thenthong Phonsettha, Vongdalasene Sayoulasouk, Paseuthsack Souliyavong, Xaisongkham Champathong, Khouanta Sivongthong, Maitee, Dao Khotsaya, Soubandit Thammavong, Phoutthakone Keovongsa, Hang Sukonthea, Peas Sothy, Saynakhonevieng Phommapanya, Chintana Souksavath, Moukda Souksavath and MPhatthana Syvilay - "Involvement in the manipulation of matches"

Ou Kyoung-Jun, Park Jung-Hae, Kwon Jip, Lee Jung-Won, Yang Jung-Min, Kwak Chang-Hee, Sin Jun-Bae, Kim Ba-Woo, Park Sang-Wook and Kang Gu-Nam - Match fixing

Mursyid Effendi - Deliberately scoring an own goal

Iu Wai - Attempted to bribe fellow players

Salvador Carmona - Doping

Luis Anaya, Osael Romero, Ramon Sanchez, Christian Castillo, Miguel Granada, Miguel Montes, Dagoberto Portillo, Dennis Alas, Darwin Bonilla, Ramon Flores, Alfredo Pacheco, Mordecai Henriquez, Marvin Gonzalez and Reynaldo Hernandez - Match fixing

Guillermo Ramirez, Yony Flores and Gustavo Cabrera - Match fixing

Romario, Gabriel Tota, Matheus Gomes, Ygor Catatau - Match fixing