Chinese government bans almost 50 sports stars and hands out 20-year prison sentences
The Asian country is taking unprecedented measures to curb match-fixing with players sentenced to two decades in prison.
Chinese football is undergoing a profound upheaval. Years of scandals, bribery, and match-fixing have severely damaged the image of the so-called “king of sports” in the Asian giant. Now, the country is facing a sweeping cleanup effort driven by the highest levels of political power.
The recent confirmation of a 20-year prison sentence for former national team coach Li Tie is just the tip of the iceberg in an anti-corruption campaign that has engulfed players, referees, and officials alike.
On April 30, the Hubei Higher People’s Court upheld the prison sentence handed down in December to Li Tie, citing solid evidence of bribery and match-fixing during his time both as a club coach and as he rose to lead the national team.
Li, once a star player for Everton and among the most prominent Chinese footballers abroad, stunned the nation when his televised confession aired on CCTV in January. He admitted to paying nearly €400,000 to secure his position as national team manager and to being involved in fixing matches. “I regret it very much. Some things were common practice in football at the time,” he said.
The truth is that match-fixing has been an open secret in Chinese football for far too long. In September 2024, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) announced lifetime bans for 43 individuals involved in fixing matches.
Among those sanctioned were former internationals Jin Jingdao, Guo Tianyu, and Gu Chao, as well as South Korean player Son Jun-ho, who was arrested in China in May 2023 and later repatriated. The list also included Cameroonian player Ewolo Donovan, now with Khaitan SC in Kuwait, who was banned for five years for his actions while at Zhejiang FC. These penalties followed an extensive investigation involving 120 matches, 128 suspects, and 41 football clubs.
CFA President Song Kai confirmed that all 43 individuals had been permanently banned from football activities. “We urge the entire football industry to strictly adhere to this ban,” he declared.
But corruption hasn’t been confined to players. Referees—often considered the most vulnerable link—have also been under scrutiny. In December, Tan Hai, former director of the CFA’s Referee Management Department, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for accepting bribes.
To rebuild credibility, the CFA announced in March the creation of China’s first national referee academy. The initiative aims to develop a new generation of referees trained to international standards using modern methods. According to Song Kai, this marks “a crucial step in building a pipeline of high-level professionals.”
Tan Hai’s case adds to a long and troubling history. In 2003, international referee Gong Jianping was sentenced to 10 years in prison for fixing matches during the 2000–01 season. His confession exposed a network of corrupt referees known as the “black whistles.”
Corruption in refereeing hasn’t stopped at the pitch. It has reached the sport’s top brass. Zhang Jianqiang, former head of the CFA Referees Committee, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, while former vice-presidents Yang Yimin and Nan Yong received ten-and-a-half-year sentences for their direct roles in match-fixing schemes. These scandals have badly damaged the reputation of domestic football and alienated Chinese fans, many of whom have shifted their attention to European leagues.
This ongoing crackdown cannot be fully understood without its political context. Since taking power in 2012, President Xi Jinping has led a far-reaching anti-corruption campaign targeting top Communist Party officials, civil servants—and now sports executives.
In March, former CFA president Chen Xuyuan was sentenced to life in prison for corruption, dealing one of the most severe blows to China’s football establishment. The sentencing of Li Tie, the purge of dozens of players, and the overhaul of referee training are all part of a broader strategy: to clean up football as a reflection of a state that will no longer tolerate corruption.
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