China Soccer Purges 60 Players, Officials in Corruption and Gambling Probe

Posted on: September 10, 2024, 04:49h. 

Last updated on: September 11, 2024, 10:23h.

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China’s Football Association (soccer) has banned 43 players and officials from the sport for life following a widespread investigation into corruption and match-fixing.

Chinese Football Association, CFA, China soccer, Son Jun-ho
Chinese soccer fans voicing their support for the national team ahead of its humiliating 7-0 defeat to Japan last week. Widespread corruption has been blamed for the failure to realize President Xi Jinping’s dream of transforming the country into a soccer superpower. (Image: CNA)

Among the group are former Chinese internationals Jin Jingdao, Guo Tianyu, and Gu Chao. Current South Korea international Son Jun-ho, who played in China for Shandong Taishan in the Chinese Super League, is also on the list.

The sanctions were announced Tuesday at a press briefing in Dalian by the top official from the Ministry of Public Security, Zhang Xiaopeng, and reported by Xinhua, the state-owned news agency.

Draining the Swamp

Zhang said the bans were the culmination of a two-year investigation that uncovered widespread online gambling, match-fixing, and bribery in Chinese soccer. Some 120 matches were implicated in the investigation, which involved 128 criminal suspects and 41 teams.

In addition to the 43 life bans, 17 others, including Cameroonian forward Donovan Ewolo, now playing in Saudi Arabia, were banned for five years.

Son ‘Bewildered’

Son, 32, was arrested as he attempted to leave China in May 2023. He was detained in the country until March of this year on unspecified bribery charges.

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) said in a statement that Son had “participated in illegal transactions, manipulated football matches, and obtained illegal gains to seek unlawful benefits.”

“His actions seriously violated sports ethics and sportsmanship, causing significant negative social impact,” the CFA said.

Son’s agent, Park Dae-yeon, told South Korean news agency Yonhap Tuesday that he and his client were “bewildered” by the “ridiculous” charges.

Corruption has long been endemic in Chinese soccer. Earlier this year, former CFA president Chen Xuyuan was sentenced to life in prison for accepting millions in bribes.

China’s Failed Soccer Project

Chinese President Xi Jinping is said to be a big fan of the game and pledged in 2015 to turn China into a soccer superpower that would one day lift the World Cup. But despite pouring billions into the sport, there is nothing to suggest China is the sleeping giant of world soccer.

If anything, the country’s prospects for achieving soccer glory are getting worse.

In January, for the first time in 29 years, China lost to Hong Kong, its own Special Administrative Region (SAR). But the most humiliating defeat was a 7-0 hammering last Friday by Japan, one of its biggest sporting and geopolitical rivals.

A recent documentary that aired on state television claimed corruption is holding Chinese soccer back and may have spurred authorities to purge the game of undesirable elements.

Just hours after Tuesday’s sanctions were announced, China was beaten at home by Saudi Arabia. The national team currently sits at the bottom of its World Cup qualifying group.