MELBOURNE (REUTERS) - Four players and a coach facing criminal charges related to match-fixing in Australia's second-tier Victorian Premier League have been suspended from all football activities, the country's governing body said today.

The multi-million-dollar racket, which had links with betting syndicates in Malaysia and Hungary, was smashed by the Australian police who acted on information from the Football Federation of Australia (FFA).

The FFA has suspended the five Southern Stars individuals under its National Code of Conduct for bringing the game into disrepute.

"FFA has determined that as the four players and coach are facing serious criminal charges... they have breached the obligation in the Code to not bring FFA or the game of football into disrepute," it said in a statement.

It has also written to world governing body Fifa to extend the bans worldwide.