According to state media reports on Tuesday, the ex-chairman of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) has been handed a life sentence for his involvement in bribery amounting to $11 million, amidst a series of convictions of sports officials for corruption.
President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign has had a significant impact on China's sports sector, particularly football.
Over the past few years, approximately 10 high-ranking officials and executives of the CFA, including former national team coach Li Tie, have been implicated and prosecuted.
Former chairman Chen Xuyuan took advantage of his positions at the CFA and other bodies to "illegally accept sums of money from other people totalling 81.03 million yuan ($11 million)", the Communist Party-run People's Daily newspaper said.
The bribes were "particularly huge" and his actions "seriously damaged fair competition and order", the report said.
He "caused serious consequences for the national football industry", it added.
Xi, an avowed football enthusiast, has openly expressed his aspirations for China to host and triumph in the World Cup.
However, achieving that dream seems increasingly distant following the corruption investigation and numerous disappointing performances on the field.
Recently, national team captain Zhang Linpeng resigned from international football, citing the "embarrassment" of a World Cup qualifying match against Singapore. He later reversed his decision.
Before assuming the role of CFA chairman in 2019, Chen occupied various other positions within the football sphere. However, in February of the previous year, he became the subject of an investigation.
In a televised documentary aired in January, Chen admitted to accepting monetary bribes from individuals seeking favor with him.
"Fans can accept the fact that the state of Chinese football is bad," Chen said in the documentary. "But they cannot forgive corruption."
According to the state news agency Xinhua, verdicts in several significant corruption cases are anticipated to be disclosed on Tuesday.
Among those cases, there could be an announcement regarding the situation of the former coach Li, who had close ties to Chen.
In the documentary aired in January, the former Everton midfielder confessed to orchestrating approximately $430,000 in bribes to secure his position and also confessed to involvement in match-fixing while serving as a club coach.
"There were certain things that at the time were common practices in football," he said.
On Tuesday, separate bribery cases resulted in significant sentences.
Chen Yongliang, a former senior official of the CFA, received a 14-year sentence, while Dong Zheng, the former general manager of the Chinese Super League, was handed an eight-year term. Additionally, Yu Hongchen, the former chairman of the China Athletic Association, was sentenced to 13 years for similar offences.
Another notable case involved South Korean footballer Son Jun-ho, who was detained by Chinese authorities in May of the previous year, causing ripples in the Chinese football community and beyond. At the time, Beijing stated that the World Cup midfielder was detained "on suspicion of accepting bribes by non-state employees," though specifics were not provided. On Monday, Seoul's foreign ministry announced his release and return home.
Son had been playing for Shandong Taishan in the Chinese Super League and had participated in three of South Korea's four matches during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. His international teammate, Lee Jae-sung, expressed gratitude for Son's release when speaking to the media.
"It broke my heart when I first heard about his detention last year," he told a press conference in Bangkok, where South Korea play Thailand later Tuesday in a World Cup qualifier.
(With AFP inputs)
