The Chinese Football Association has banned for life 43 people, including three former Chinese internationals as well as South Korean World Cup player Son Jun-ho, for alleged match-fixing and corruption.
According to state-owned news agency Xinhua, details of the alleged match-fixing were outlined by senior police official Zhang Xiaopeng during a media briefing on Tuesday in which he detailed a two-year investigation that “uncovered a series of online gambling, match-fixing and bribery cases.”
It is alleged that 128 criminal suspects and 41 clubs formed part of the investigation, involving 120 matches in domestic leagues. It added that the individuals banned involved 38 players and five officials.
Among those banned are former Chinese internationals Jin Jingdao, Guo Tianyu and Gu Chao, as well as former Shandong Taishan FC player Son Jun-ho – who has played 20 times for the Korean national team – and Ewolo Donovan of Cameroon. Other players and officials were handed shorter bans.
A statement from the Chinese Football Association said Son’s actions “seriously violated sports ethics and sportsmanship, causing a significant negative impact on society.”
The bans come at a time when Chinese football finds itself in crisis, criticized for spending big on attracting big international names while failing to invest adequately in youth development.
The widening gap between Chinese football and its Asian neigbors was laid bare last week when the national team was thrashed 7-0 by Japan.
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