China Imposes Lifetime Bans on 43 Soccer Players and Officials in Major Match-Fixing Crackdown

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has imposed lifetime bans on 38 soccer players and five club officials following a two-year investigation into match-fixing and gambling. This extensive crackdown is part of a broader effort to tackle corruption in Chinese soccer, one of the country’s most popular sports.

The investigation uncovered that 120 matches had been manipulated, involving 41 football clubs, according to Zhang Xiaopeng, a senior official from the Ministry of Public Security. The details of whether all matches were within China’s borders were not specified.

Among those banned for life are former Chinese internationals Jin Jingdao, Guo Tianyu, and Gu Chao, as well as South Korean player Son Jun-ho. The findings were announced at a press conference in Dalian by the ministry and the General Administration of Sport of China. Son Jun-ho, who had been detained in China for 10 months, was released in March and has since returned to South Korea.

In addition to the lifetime bans, 44 individuals face criminal charges related to bribery, gambling, and operating illegal casinos, with 17 others implicated in bribery and match-fixing. CFA President Song Kai confirmed that 43 of the 44 individuals have been banned for life from football-related activities, while the remaining 17 received five-year bans.

The announcement comes just before a World Cup qualifier in Dalian, where Team China will face Saudi Arabia following a heavy 7-0 defeat to Japan.

Corruption has long plagued Chinese soccer, with fans attributing the sport’s underperformance to these issues. The Chinese government has intensified its anti-corruption measures, including recent high-profile sentences such as the former vice president of the national football association receiving 11 years in prison and a former CFA chairman being sentenced to life imprisonment in March.