Due to the deep involvement of capital from China’s real estate industry in professional football, numerous personnel from football clubs invested in by property enterprises have been implicated in 'match-fixing, gambling, and corruption' issues, and have been punished with lifetime bans and other penalties.
According to Yicai, the Chinese Football Association released a notice on Thursday (May 21) regarding the third batch of industry disciplinary actions, stating that they systematically reviewed and thoroughly studied materials from football industry cases related to 'match-fixing, gambling, and corruption', and have completed industry disciplinary reviews of the persons and clubs involved.
Among them, 17 people were found guilty of crimes and have been permanently banned from engaging in any football-related activities; 48 others seriously violated industry regulations and are banned from football-related activities for five years or less.
The report pointed out that many of those punished came from football clubs invested in by property companies such as China Fortune Land Development, Guangzhou R&F, Shanghai Greenland Shenhua, Henan Jianye, Zhejiang Greentown, and Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao.
The report pointed out that many of those punished came from football clubs invested in by property companies such as China Fortune Land Development, Guangzhou R&F, Shanghai Greenland Shenhua, Henan Jianye, Zhejiang Greentown, and Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao.
The notice stated that Meng Jing, former president of China Fortune Land Development, engaged in bribery, violated sports ethics, lost the sporting spirit, and engaged in improper transactions for personal gain; he manipulated football matches, seriously violated the spirit of fair play, and caused a severely negative social impact. Meng Jing has been permanently banned from all football-related activities.
Other punished individuals include former vice chairman of Guangzhou R&F Football Club Huang Shenghua, former chairman of Shanghai Greenland Shenhua Football Club Wu Xiaohui, former general manager of Zhejiang Greentown Football Club Jiao Fengbo, former deputy general manager of Hangzhou Greentown Football Club Huang Fannong, former general manager of Henan Jianye Football Club Guo Guangqi, former general manager of Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club Gao Han, and others. These individuals have all been banned from engaging in football-related activities for five years, until May 20, 2031.
In late 2022, a sweeping anti-corruption campaign began in Chinese football. In November of that year, the former head coach of China’s men’s national football team, Li Tie, was investigated. Since then, over a dozen medium and high-ranking officials in the Chinese Football Association system have fallen, including then-chairman Chen Xuyuan and then deputy director of the General Administration of Sport and former Party Secretary of the Football Association Du Zhaocai. Additionally, coaches, players, referees, club executives, agents, and dozens of other individuals involved have been investigated by discipline inspection departments and public security organs, resulting in a typical collapse-style corruption case.
Other punished individuals include former vice chairman of Guangzhou R&F Football Club Huang Shenghua, former chairman of Shanghai Greenland Shenhua Football Club Wu Xiaohui, former general manager of Zhejiang Greentown Football Club Jiao Fengbo, former deputy general manager of Hangzhou Greentown Football Club Huang Fannong, former general manager of Henan Jianye Football Club Guo Guangqi, former general manager of Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club Gao Han, and others. These individuals have all been banned from engaging in football-related activities for five years, until May 20, 2031.
In late 2022, a sweeping anti-corruption campaign began in Chinese football. In November of that year, the former head coach of China’s men’s national football team, Li Tie, was investigated. Since then, over a dozen medium and high-ranking officials in the Chinese Football Association system have fallen, including then-chairman Chen Xuyuan and then deputy director of the General Administration of Sport and former Party Secretary of the Football Association Du Zhaocai. Additionally, coaches, players, referees, club executives, agents, and dozens of other individuals involved have been investigated by discipline inspection departments and public security organs, resulting in a typical collapse-style corruption case.
During this same period, Meng Jing, who has now been permanently banned, was also detained in early 2023 for suspected criminal activity. Since 2024, disciplinary actions against the involved individuals have been announced successively.