China bans 73 people from football over match-fixing | OneFootball

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) announced this Thursday (29) that it has imposed lifetime bans on 73 individuals, including former national team coach Li Tie, and on 13 major professional clubs for match-fixing and corruption.

Match-fixing

Under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, the Asian powerhouse launched an anti-corruption campaign that, in recent years, has exposed the deplorable state of professional football in the country.

Several CFA officials have already been removed from their positions, and dozens of players have received sanctions for involvement in match-fixing and illegal betting.

Thursday's statement did not specify when the match-fixing took place or how it was carried out.

The punishments were imposed after a “systematic review” and were necessary “to enforce discipline in the sector, purify the football environment, and maintain fair competition,” the association added on its social media.

Punished former coach

Li, a former player for England’s Everton and Sheffield United, coached the Chinese national team from 2019 to 2021 and is already serving a 20-year prison sentence for bribery, after being convicted in 2024.

Now, he has been permanently banned from participating in any football-related activity, along with 72 other individuals, the CFA announced.

Among those sanctioned is Chen Xuyuan, former president of the CFA, who is already serving a life sentence for accepting bribes totaling US$11 million (about R$57.2 million at the current exchange rate).

Super League Punishments

At the same time, of the 16 clubs that competed in the 2025 season of China’s top football league, the Chinese Super League (CSL), 11 will lose points and be fined.

Tianjin Jinmen Tiger and last season’s runner-up, Shanghai Shenhua, will face the harshest penalties, with a loss of 10 points and fines of one million yuan (approximately R$749,000) at the start of the 2026 season in March.

Shanghai Port, champions of the past three seasons, will have five points deducted and be fined 400,000 yuan (about R$301,500), the same punishment applied to Beijing Guoan.

*Content produced by AFP

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.