China jails two more former top football officials for bribery

BEIJING: China jailed two more former top football officials for bribery on Wednesday, court statements showed, following a sweeping crackdown on corruption in the domestic game.

Liu Yi, who was secretary general of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), was handed an 11-year sentence and fined 3.6 million yuan ($497,000) for taking bribes, a court in central Hubei province said.

A separate court in the same province said Tan Hai, former head of the CFA’s referees management office, was given six and a half years and a 200,000 yuan fine.

“The property he obtained will be clawed back in accordance with the law and turned over to the state treasury,” both statements said. Another court on Tuesday said Qi Jun, the CFA’s ex-chief of strategic planning, was sentenced to seven years and slapped with a 600,000 yuan penalty, also for bribery.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has waged an unrelenting campaign against corruption since coming to power over a decade ago.

Proponents say the policy promotes clean governance, but others say it also serves as a means for Xi to purge political rivals.

Anti-graft authorities first trained their sights on football at the end of 2022 as part of an extensive clampdown on the sports industry. Former CFA chief Chen Xuyuan was jailed for life in March for accepting bribes.

The same month, former national team coach and Premier League midfielder Li Tie pleaded guilty to the same crime.

Xi is a self-proclaimed football fan who wants China to host and win the World Cup one day, but the men’s national team has failed to impress. FIFA currently ranks China 90th in the world, one place above the tiny Caribbean island of Curacao.