China fines soccer club, issues bans in wake of match fixing

The Chinese Football Association also banned 33 officials and players for life at the conclusion of a three-year investigation into corruption in the CSL, the Xinhua News Agency and other state media reported Tuesday.

Among those banned were former association chiefs Nan Yong and Xie Yalong, who were each sentenced last year to 10 1/2 years in prison.

Shanghai Shenhua was also docked six points for the coming season as part of its punishment for fixing the result of a game against Shanxi Guoli on its way to the 2003 title. Another 11 clubs were fined up to US$160,000 and docked between three and six competition points for previous incidents of bribery and match fixing.

Shenhua spokesman Ma Yue did not immediately return calls or text messages seeking comment, and it was not clear if the club would appeal its punishment.

Shenhua's primary investor, computer games mogul Zhao Jun, wrote on his Twitter-like Weibo microblog that the club suffered from “internal problems.”

“The entire city is upset at the punishment. We all belong to Shenhua, no matter whether in past or present, no matter how difficult or how much we have been wronged, we will stand and bear it.”

Also handed life-long bans were former deputy association head Yang Yimin, 2002 World Cup referee Lu Jun and four former Chinese internationals — Shen Si, Qi Hong, Jiang Jin and Li Ming — all of whom were earlier sentenced to up to six years jail for bribe taking. Violations cited by the CFA included match fixing, bribe taking and receiving, and gambling — some of them dating back a decade or more, Xinhua said.

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