Big sweep. The Chinese Football Association banned 43 people for life on Tuesday for alleged betting and match-fixing, including three former Chinese internationals and South Korean international player Son Jun-ho, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
128 people involved in total
In recent years, Beijing has stepped up its crackdown on corruption in Chinese sports, especially football, and has jailed several senior officials. The 43 are among a total of 128 people implicated in a two-year investigation into illegal betting and match-fixing in Chinese football, China’s Ministry of Public Security was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
The news came hours before a 2026 World Cup qualifier between China and Saudi Arabia and less than a week after the national team’s humiliating 7-0 defeat by rivals Japan. The Chinese Football Association has accused Son Jun-ho, who played for Shandong Taishan in the Chinese Premier League, of participating in match-fixing and accepting bribes.
The international midfielder returned to South Korea in March 2024 after being detained in China since May 2023. Beijing said at the time that he was arrested “on suspicion of accepting bribes from non-state employees”, without giving further details.
Business follows business
Former Chinese international Jin Jingdao, who also played for Shandong Taishan, is also on the list of those banned for life. Chinese football’s governing body has itself come under scrutiny, with around a dozen senior officials already removed from their posts amid corruption investigations.
In March, the government sentenced former court president Chen Xuyuan to life in prison for receiving what it called “particularly large” bribes. The same month, former Chinese national team coach and ex-Everton England midfielder Li Tie pleaded guilty to accepting more than €9.7 million in bribes and helping to fix matches.
In May, state broadcaster CCTV reported that Gou Zhongwen, former head of China’s General Administration of Sport, was under investigation for bribery. In August, a Chinese court sentenced Li Yuyi, a former vice president of the federation, to 11 years in prison, also for taking bribes.
- RMC Sport
