Chinese Football Association imposes lifetime bans on 43 players and officials as part of its latest crackdown on match-fixing and gambling

After a two-year investigation, the Chinese Football Association has banned 38 football players and five club officials for life for match-fixing, gambling and bribery.

Among those banned from participating in any football-related activities in China for the rest of their lives were former Chinese international players Jin Jingdao, Guo Tianyu and Gu Chao, as well as South Korean player Son Jun-ho.

Zhang Xiaopeng, a senior official at the Ministry of Public Security, told Xinhua News Agency at a press conference in Dalian on September 10 that the investigation had uncovered 120 match-fixing cases and implicated 128 suspects and 41 football clubs.

Zhang explained that “the Ministry of Public Security has reported details of the first 61 people involved in the cases to the China Sports Administration and the CFA.” Of these, 44 were prosecuted for bribery, gambling and illegally opening casinos, while 17 others were convicted of bribery and match-fixing.

CFA President Song Kai confirmed that 43 of the 44 people facing criminal sanctions were banned from football-related activities for life and 17 others, including 15 players and two club officials, were banned for five years.

Shen Liuxi, a former Hangzhou Greentown player, was not on the lifetime ban list as he had already received the same punishment in 2013. In the recent investigation, he was found guilty of opening illegal casinos.

Among those banned for five years is an international player: Cameroonian Ewolo Donovan, who played for Heilongjiang Ice City.

South Korean player Son was detained in China for ten months before being released in March and returning to his country, where he currently plays for Suwon.

His agent Park Dae-yeon said it was “ridiculous” to accuse his client of match-fixing and that they would call a press conference “to say everything we have to say.”

Suwon’s sporting director Choi Soon-ho said they would continue to field Son unless instructed otherwise as the CFA’s decision “does not apply to us”. Choi said: “He vehemently denied bribery allegations when he signed with us and I respect that.”

A statement from the CFA said: “According to the facts established by the judicial authorities, Son Jun-ho, a former player of Shandong Taishan FC, engaged in illegal transactions, manipulated football matches and obtained illegal profits to gain illegitimate benefits. His actions seriously violated sports ethics and sportsmanship and caused significant negative social impacts.”

In March this year, a former chairman of the CFA was sentenced to life imprisonment. Five months later, in August, a former vice-president of the association was sentenced to 11 years in prison for accepting bribes and a former director of the competition department was sentenced to seven years in prison for the same offence.

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