Asian toffee here. Not too sure if anyone is following the news of Li Tie who just admitted to corruption in a documentary.
Jan 10, 2024 07:15 PM
CHINA
Former head coach of China’s national soccer team, Li Tie. Photo: CCTV
Li Tie, former head coach of China’s national men’s soccer team, has admitted he fixed matches for lower-level clubs and bribed his way up to the top coaching role over the past decade, the confession coming in a state-backed documentary that revealed “all-round” corruption in the sport.
The 46-year-old veteran star midfielder admitted to paying a total of 3 million yuan ($418,000) in 2019 in order to get the head coach role, of which 2 million yuan went to the then Chinese Football Association (CFA) President Chen Xuyuan and the rest to CFA’s then secretary-general, according to the televised series’ final episode that aired Tuesday.
In addition, Li paid off opponents to make sure the second-tier teams that he managed or coached in the 2010s would win matches, and in turn secure spots to play in the Chinese Super League (CSL), the documentary said.
Li’s story was revealed as part of a four-episode anti-documentary program co-produced by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and state broadcaster CCTV in what has become an annual event where the country’s top graft buster spotlights corrupt officials.
The Tuesday episode came more than one year after Li fell under graft probe in November 2022 and was officially charged with bribery-related crimes in August 2023. Li’s fall was the tip of the iceberg that exposed rampant corruption within the nation’s soccer arena, a sport that has a wide following in the country, but also a history of disappointing performances by the national team.
In the case of Hebei Fortune Football Club, where Li served as the head coach in 2015, the team spent over 14 million yuan ($1.95 million) during the final game that season to bribe the opposing Shenzhen FC to secure a win.
He also fixed matches for Wuhan Zall FC, where he served as manager and later head coach, to gain a place in the CSL in 2018. The program did not specify the amount of money spent on that effort.
Li said such “improper” ways of getting the result he wanted led to a bigger appetite for quick success, admitting in the documentary that buying off referees, players and coaches then “turned into a habit” that he relied on.
As of October 2023, at least 13 other senior officials related to the sport have been investigated, including Chen and Du Zhaocai, former deputy director of the General Administration of Sport of China.
“Corruption in Chinese soccer is not in just one area, but all-round,” Chen said in the documentary, which also revealed that he had accepted tens of millions yuan in bribes from different clubs while serving as the head of the CFA.
The last time China launched a major anti-corruption crackdown in the sport was in 2009, resulting in three former CFA vice presidents sentenced to more than 10 years in jail on corruption charges, while dozens of others including club managers, coaches, players and referees were also punished.
At the end of the Tuesday program, Li expressed his regrets, saying that “I should have been down-to-earth and gone on the right track.”
Li is awaiting trial in Hubei province.
Jan 10, 2024 07:15 PM
CHINA
Disgraced Former China Soccer Coach Admits Match Fixing, Bribery
Former head coach of China’s national soccer team, Li Tie. Photo: CCTV
Li Tie, former head coach of China’s national men’s soccer team, has admitted he fixed matches for lower-level clubs and bribed his way up to the top coaching role over the past decade, the confession coming in a state-backed documentary that revealed “all-round” corruption in the sport.
The 46-year-old veteran star midfielder admitted to paying a total of 3 million yuan ($418,000) in 2019 in order to get the head coach role, of which 2 million yuan went to the then Chinese Football Association (CFA) President Chen Xuyuan and the rest to CFA’s then secretary-general, according to the televised series’ final episode that aired Tuesday.
In addition, Li paid off opponents to make sure the second-tier teams that he managed or coached in the 2010s would win matches, and in turn secure spots to play in the Chinese Super League (CSL), the documentary said.
Li’s story was revealed as part of a four-episode anti-documentary program co-produced by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and state broadcaster CCTV in what has become an annual event where the country’s top graft buster spotlights corrupt officials.
The Tuesday episode came more than one year after Li fell under graft probe in November 2022 and was officially charged with bribery-related crimes in August 2023. Li’s fall was the tip of the iceberg that exposed rampant corruption within the nation’s soccer arena, a sport that has a wide following in the country, but also a history of disappointing performances by the national team.
In the case of Hebei Fortune Football Club, where Li served as the head coach in 2015, the team spent over 14 million yuan ($1.95 million) during the final game that season to bribe the opposing Shenzhen FC to secure a win.
He also fixed matches for Wuhan Zall FC, where he served as manager and later head coach, to gain a place in the CSL in 2018. The program did not specify the amount of money spent on that effort.
Li said such “improper” ways of getting the result he wanted led to a bigger appetite for quick success, admitting in the documentary that buying off referees, players and coaches then “turned into a habit” that he relied on.
As of October 2023, at least 13 other senior officials related to the sport have been investigated, including Chen and Du Zhaocai, former deputy director of the General Administration of Sport of China.
“Corruption in Chinese soccer is not in just one area, but all-round,” Chen said in the documentary, which also revealed that he had accepted tens of millions yuan in bribes from different clubs while serving as the head of the CFA.
The last time China launched a major anti-corruption crackdown in the sport was in 2009, resulting in three former CFA vice presidents sentenced to more than 10 years in jail on corruption charges, while dozens of others including club managers, coaches, players and referees were also punished.
At the end of the Tuesday program, Li expressed his regrets, saying that “I should have been down-to-earth and gone on the right track.”
Li is awaiting trial in Hubei province.
