China bans 73 people for life and sanctions 13 football clubs over Match-fixing and corrution

Chinese FA has banned 73 people from soccer for life and deducted points from nine top-tier clubs in its latest anti-corruption campaign over alleged match-fixing.

Former national team coach and Everton player Li Tie and Chen Xuyuan, former president of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), were among those banned.

At a press conference in Beijing, the CFA, the Ministry of Public Security and the General Administration of Sport outlined the campaign against match‑fixing, betting and corrupt refereeing in football.

“The Ministry of Public Security will continue to work with sports administrative departments to maintain a high‑pressure stance of strict law enforcement and severe punishment, effectively support and advance these efforts thoroughly and concretely,” a senior official from the Ministry of Public Security said.

“For 73 industry personnel, including Chen Xuyuan and Li Tie, whose criminal offenses have been confirmed by effective judicial judgments, the CFA has imposed lifetime bans on participating in any football-related activities,” a CFA official said.

In 2024, Li, who managed the national team from 2019 to 2021, and Chen were convicted of accepting millions of dollars in bribes. Li was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while Chen received a life term.

Nine Chinese Super League clubs were also punished.

Of the potentially 16 teams in the CSL this year, nine will start in the red, with Shanghai Shenhua and Tianjin Jimen Tiger the hardest hit. The two sides will start on minus-10 points, with Qingdao Hainiu next on the list with minus-7, andHenan FC and Shandong Taishan on minus-6.

Champions Shanghai Port were among a group of four sides, including Zheijiang FC, Beijing Guian and Wuhan Three Towns, hit with the loss of five points. All four were found guilty of using a third party company to sign players to avoid salary cap and raising players salaries during the 2023-2024 season.

Changchun Yati and Meizhou Haka, who were relegated to China League One at the end of last year, were deducted four and three points, respectively.

Teams were also fined between 1 million yuan (HK$1.12 million) and 200,000 yuan.

While a CFA official said the range of punishments reflected the “nature, seriousness and social impact of the improper transactions in which each club was involved,” some fans were less impressed.

Cameron Wilson, a well-known commentator on football in the country, said it was evidence of politics once again “screwing over Chinese football”.

“Instead of punishing the guilty individual, innocent fans and the entire Chinese game are penalised,” he wrote on X. “The 2026 season has been rendered meaningless before it’s even kicked off.”

There was a typically strong stance taken by the General Administration of Sport, which said the move showed a “firm determination to strictly rectify the professional conduct and ethics in football”.

It also planned to “further tighten the supervisory responsibilities of sports administrative departments at all levels, football associations and the Chinese Football League” in a bid to improve achievements against “match‑fixing, betting and corrupt refereeing offences”.

The announcement followed lifetime bans ‌issued ?in September 2024 to 43 players and officials ‌also for match-fixing.