China’s Football Association (soccer) has banned 43 players and officials for life from the sport following a widespread investigation into corruption and match fixing.
Among them are former Chinese internationals Jin Jingdao, Guo Tianyu, and Gu Chao. Current South Korea international Son Jun-ho, who played in China for Shandong Taishan in the Chinese Super League, is also on the list.
The sanctions were announced Tuesday at a press briefing in Dalian by top official from the Ministry of Public Security, Zhang Xiaopeng, and reported by Xinhua, the state-owned news agency.
Draining the Swamp
Zhang said this was the culmination of a two-year investigation that uncovered widespread online gambling, match-fixing, and bribery in Chinese soccer. Some 120 matches were implicated in the investigation, which involved 128 criminal suspects and 41 teams.
In addition to the 43 life bans, 17 others, including Cameroonian forward Donovan Ewolo, now playing in Saudi Arabia, were banned for five years.
Son ‘Bewildered’
Son, 32, was arrested as he attempted to leave China in May 2023. He was detained in the country until March of this year on unspecified bribery charges.
The Chinese Football Association (CFA) said in a statement that Son had “participated in illegal transactions, manipulated football matches, and obtained illegal gains to seek unlawful benefits.”
“His actions seriously violated sports ethics and sportsmanship, causing significant negative social impact,” the CFA said.
Son’s agent, Park Dae-yeon, told South Korean news agency Yonhap Tuesday that he and his client were “bewildered” by the “ridiculous” charges.
Corruption has long been endemic in Chinese soccer. Earlier this year, former CFA president Chen Xuyuan was sentenced to life in prison for accepting millions in bribes.
China’s Failed Soccer Project
Chinese President Xi Jinping is said to be a big fan of the game and pledged in 2015 to turn China into a soccer superpower that would one day lift the World Cup. But despite pouring billions into the sport, there is nothing to suggest China is the sleeping giant of world soccer.
If anything, it’s getting worse.
In January, for the first time in 29 years, it lost to Hong Kong, its own special administrative region. But the most humiliating defeat was a 7-0 hammering last Friday by Japan, one of its biggest sporting and geopolitical rivals.
A recent documentary that aired on state television claimed corruption was holding Chinese soccer back, which may have spurred authorities to purge the game of undesirable elements.
Just hours after today’s sanctions were announced, China was beaten at home by Saudi Arabia. The national team currently sits at the bottom of its World Cup qualifying group.
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