◆From head coaches to players, from cadre appointments to player selection, these processes are governed by laws and regulations, personnel appointment standards, and talent selection systems. These should have been the "tightening bands" for football association cadres and coaches, but in the end they became their "talismans" for rent-seeking and amassing wealth.

　　◆Illegally obtaining league hosting rights, broadcasting rights, or corruption in procurement has become a major disaster area for corruption.

　　◆Football association personnel "tipping off" referees and clubs bribing referees have become unspoken industry rules, severely affecting the football association's credibility.

　　◆Under the systematic, collapse-style corruption polluting the football field, the entire industry ecosystem has deteriorated accordingly. Some national team players lack fighting spirit, a sense of honor and mission, and the courage to fight hard.

　　Since the investigation of Li Tie, former head coach of the Chinese national men's football team, began in November 2022, more than 10 mid- and high-level cadres have successively fallen, including Chen Xuyuan, former deputy party secretary and chairman of the Chinese Football Association, and Du Zhaocai, former deputy director of the General Administration of Sport of China and former party secretary of the Chinese Football Association.

　　From the CFA leadership to specific business departments, from frontline "big rats" to the "tigers" behind them... These shocking facts occurred in every corner on and off the green pitch, forming systematic, collapse-style corruption in the football field. Experts interviewed by reporters all said that the new round of anti-corruption storm in Chinese football is still ongoing. This is a microcosm of the tough and protracted battle against corruption extending into an industry, and also a "scraping the bone to cure the poison" treatment of the chaos in football.

　　Systematic, collapse-style corruption in the football field

　　During the 2024 National Two Sessions, Gao Zhidan, director of the General Administration of Sport of China, said: "We are clearly aware that there are still many shortcomings and deficiencies that urgently need to be resolved. Old problems such as unbalanced and uncoordinated development in various sports fields still need to be solved. Systematic, collapse-style corruption has occurred in the football field, and the performance of the three major ball sports has continued to decline. These all show an obvious gap with the requirements of the Party Central Committee and the expectations of the people."

　　"As one of the three major ball sports, football's corruption-prone links are quite representative in the sports field, and its influence far exceeds other ordinary sports fields. Its corruption problems are shocking," said Shi Pengpeng, vice dean and professor of the School of Discipline Inspection and Supervision at China University of Political Science and Law, in an interview with reporters.

　　"The biggest characteristic of duty-related crimes in the football field is group corruption, with those above and below colluding and shielding each other. The characteristics of clustered and linked cases involving main leadership positions and heads of key departments within the system are obvious," said Xiao Zhonghua, professor at the Law School of Renmin University of China and deputy director of the Research Center for Criminal Law Science. In fact, within relevant CFA units and among system management personnel, corruption has already shown "open" and "collective" characteristics.

　　A review of football corruption cases by reporters found that some CFA personnel "live off football" and alienate management authority into a tool for seeking private gain. Among them, Du Zhaocai, former party secretary of the CFA, and Chen Xuyuan, former chairman, were both investigated and punished for corruption, meaning the two "top leaders" took the lead. On March 26, 2024, Chen Xuyuan was sentenced by a court in the first instance to life imprisonment for bribery for illegally accepting money totaling more than 81.03 million yuan. Du Zhaocai's suspected bribery case was publicly prosecuted by the Wuhan Municipal People's Procuratorate of Hubei Province. It has now been heard but not yet sentenced.

　　In addition to the "top leaders" leading corruption, team members also "continued corruption one after another." From public cases, in recent years multiple vice chairmen of the CFA have been investigated. In 2010, former CFA vice chairman Xie Yalong and others were investigated for bribery; his successor Yu Hongchen illegally accepted property totaling more than 22.54 million yuan and was sentenced in the first instance in March 2024 to 13 years in prison; former CFA vice chairman Li Yuyi was accused by procuratorial organs of illegally accepting money totaling more than 12 million yuan. The case has been heard but not yet sentenced.

　　In addition, CFA functional departments, especially "key departments," have become major disaster areas for corruption. For example, Wang Xiaoping, former director of the CFA Disciplinary Committee, was investigated on suspicion of serious illegality; Tan Hai, former director of the Technical Department, was investigated on suspicion of serious disciplinary and legal violations; and Huang Song, former director of the Competition Department, was publicly prosecuted on suspicion of bribery.

　　Li Tie's "guaranteed admission" path to becoming men's national team head coach

　　"As a key area of the sports industry, corruption in the football field is more prominent in areas such as cadre appointment and player selection," said Song Wei, director of the Integrity Research Center at the University of Science and Technology Beijing. For example, cronyism and nepotism, especially the lack of transparency in the promotion and selection of athletes and referees, have led to serious rent-seeking.

　　The most typical case is Li Tie. On March 28, 2024, the Xianning Intermediate People's Court of Hubei Province held a public first-instance hearing of Li Tie's case. Procuratorial organs accused that from 2019 to 2021, Li Tie used the convenience of his positions as head coach of the Chinese national men's football selection team and head coach of the Chinese national men's football team, or the convenient conditions formed by his authority and status, to provide help to relevant units and individuals in matters such as players being selected for the national team, winning matches, and signing with clubs, illegally accepting money totaling more than 50.89 million yuan.

　　The process by which Li Tie became men's national team head coach through money and "guaranteed admission" was also disclosed. In the fourth episode of the television feature program "Sustained Efforts to Advance in Depth," titled "Advancing the 'Three No Corruptions' as a Whole," Li Tie said: "I wanted too much to become the national team head coach, so I thought of many ways and asked many people to intercede." In August 2019, Wuhan Zall Club and Li Tie himself bribed then CFA chairman Chen Xuyuan and then CFA secretary-general Liu Yi with 3 million yuan.

　　Chen Xuyuan said this: "The club gave me money and recommended him to me, saying Li Tie was good and that the head coach position could create opportunities and a platform for him." Taking advantage of the opportunity to discuss national team development, Li Tie bribed Liu Yi with 1 million yuan, expressing the hope that the secretary-general would support him more. Liu Yi replied, "No problem, Tiezi, I will definitely support you."

　　In this way, Li Tie was successfully "guaranteed admission" as the national team head coach through layer upon layer of bribery. The head coach's position was paved with money, and players then became bargaining chips for private gain. After confirming his election, Li Tie signed a 60 million yuan contract with Zall Club and selected four players from the club into the national team roster. When seeing the list, Tian Xudong, former chairman of Zall Club, said bluntly that "my face turned red" and "based on our players' ability, they couldn't get in, not a single one."

　　"From head coaches to players, from cadre appointments to player selection, these processes are governed by laws and regulations, personnel appointment standards, and talent selection systems. These should have been the 'tightening bands' for football association cadres and coaches, but in the end they became their 'talismans' for rent-seeking and amassing wealth," Shi Pengpeng said. The CFA's management system is chaotic, and scientific and standardized rules and regulations have not yet been formed in cadre promotion, transfer, and appointment, which has given space to "clique culture" and "mountain-stronghold mentality."

　　"The person who issued fines" was "sent off"

　　"Corruption in the football field involves athlete selection, match arrangements, match refereeing, industry management, personnel appointments, and many other aspects. Match arrangements and match refereeing are especially prominent, seriously affecting the development of Chinese football," Xiao Zhonghua said.

　　On March 24, 2023, Wang Xiaoping, former director of the CFA Disciplinary Committee, was investigated on suspicion of serious illegality. Wang Xiaoping once had considerable influence among fan groups and was called "the person who issued fines" and a football-world "calligrapher." This is because malicious fouls, irrational violations, and other behavior in matches would all be punished by the CFA, and Wang Xiaoping signed off last on league fines. According to media reports, Wang Xiaoping's "peak" period was 2017, when he issued 152 fines, with penalties reaching 3.5 million yuan. These punishments greatly affected the league competitiveness of the teams involved.

　　In the view of Peng Xinlin, director and chief expert of the Beijing Integrity Rule of Law Collaborative Innovation Base, the fact that "the person who issued fines" was "sent off" shows that the green pitch has to a large extent become a "trading floor." Illegally obtaining league hosting rights, broadcasting rights, or corruption in procurement has become a major disaster area for corruption.

　　Dong Zheng once held multiple important positions, including former general manager of Chinese Super League Co., Ltd., translator for former Chinese men's national team head coach Arie Haan, event coordinator for the Chinese men's national team, and AFC match supervisor. Investigation found that from 2014 to 2021, Dong Zheng illegally accepted bribes 38 times totaling more than 22 million yuan, involving media copyright cooperation, hosting football events, event ticketing agency, venue acceptance, business operation management, punishment for equipment violations, disbursement of participation fees, player brokerage, and other matters. On March 26, 2024, the court sentenced Dong Zheng in the first instance to eight years in prison for bribery.

　　"Every link in events may become a bargaining chip in power-for-money transactions. For example, in bidding processes such as project contracting and event hosting, it is common for project leaders to use the convenience and influence of their positions to accept bribes and 'take kickbacks,'" Shi Pengpeng said. From the perspective of league management, the CFA performs organizational and regulatory functions, but the lack of separation between management and operation makes power difficult to constrain and supervise, and makes it difficult for supervisors to become qualified "goalkeepers." The excessive concentration of power has also made the CFA a key target for capture.

　　Spending 14 million yuan to play a "must-win" match

　　"The world has long suffered from match-fixing," said Zhou Guangquan, member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, vice chairman of the Constitution and Law Committee of the National People's Congress, and dean of the Law School of Tsinghua University.

　　The eight-game winning streak "promotion to the top flight" miracle in fans' hearts was actually manipulated behind the scenes by the hand of money. In 2015, after Li Tie became head coach of Hebei China Fortune Club, the team produced a magical eight-game winning streak in the last eight matches of the season, allowing China Fortune to finally lead its competitor by one point and successfully "promote to the top flight." But investigation found that this miracle was entirely match-fixing. For example, in the last match of the season, China Fortune had to win or draw to ensure promotion. The club spent 14 million yuan for this and "tipped off" the Shenzhen club, head coach, and players.

　　"In football matches, fairness is a very important part, but CFA personnel 'tipping off' referees and clubs bribing referees have become unspoken industry rules, severely affecting the CFA's credibility," Peng Xinlin said. For example, Tan Hai, former director of the CFA Technical Department, won the annual best referee award, the "Golden Whistle Award," four times, but because of suspected serious disciplinary and legal violations, he became the first referee taken away in this football anti-corruption campaign.

　　A CFA official told reporters that many players have been manipulated into match-fixing starting from adolescence, and after reaching adulthood there are interest incentives as well. Match-fixing has almost become an industry "consensus." It can be said that in the football industry, from the soil and the foundation, the first button was never buttoned properly. A football club player said that when he was 15, the coach arranged for him to fix a match for the first time, and he received 2,000 yuan after the match; a youth team coach also asked his father for money and would not let him play if refused, and he himself was led astray by the polluted environment.

　　"The occurrence of phenomena such as 'match-fixing,' 'football gambling,' and 'biased refereeing' is not merely a problem of individual players, but the root disease of the entire football industry system. It not only harms the interests of fans, but also makes football itself lose the meaning it should have," Song Wei said.

　　Corruption in the football field leads to deterioration of the industry ecosystem

　　"Compared with traditional corruption crimes, duty-related crimes in the football field show the characteristics of huge amounts involved, complex corruption relationship networks, and rapid contagion," Shi Pengpeng said. Most corrupt individuals have complex identities and extensive social relationships, are proficient in football match rules and event supervision rules, and have the inherent advantage of being familiar with and exploiting regulatory loopholes to commit crimes. Corrupt methods are gradually developing in a concealed, digital, and professional direction.

　　Under the systematic, collapse-style corruption polluting the football field, the entire industry ecosystem has deteriorated accordingly. Some national team players lack fighting spirit, a sense of honor and mission, and the courage to fight hard. According to media reports, in 2022, when the national team faced Vietnam in the World Cup qualifiers, the CFA raised the win bonus to 6 million yuan before the match to boost morale, but the national team ultimately lost 1:3.

　　What is worse, many players are regulars at bars and clubs, and indulge in eating, drinking, prostitution, gambling, and drugs. A CFA official told reporters that most grassroots football coaches have the habit of cursing players, smoking, and drinking. Their own team building has problems, and the players they train also have bad habits. Many football players have never attended cultural classes or received ideological and moral education.

　　Multiple experts said that Chinese football has brought fans too much disappointment. Match-fixing, biased refereeing, and football gambling are rampant, and corruption is one of the most fundamental reasons. Over the past year or more, the anti-corruption storm in Chinese football has fully shown that this is not a "passing wind," but a real investigation to the end and truly resolute punishment!

　　As Gao Zhidan said, building a sports power requires creating a good environment of integrity and uprightness, resolutely punishing corruption in the sports field, resolutely cracking down on "match-fixing, gambling, and black whistles," vigorously rectifying industry conduct, and continuously purifying the sports ecosystem, so as to lay a solid political foundation and guarantee for building a sports power.