Ex-soccer executives get prison terms for corruption

Two more former senior soccer executives have received prison terms in Hubei province, as China's anti-corruption campaign in the sport continues.

On Friday, Du Zhaocai, former deputy head of the General Administration of Sport of China and former vice-president of the Chinese Football Association, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for bribery, and fined 4 million yuan ($550,000), the Wuhan Intermediate People's Court announced.

Du's illicit gains have also been confiscated, and would be turned over to the national treasury, according to the court.

It revealed that from 2012 to 2022, Du took advantage of his positions to seek profits for relevant individuals and departments in matters such as event organization, personnel arrangement and player transfer, and then accepted bribes worth more than 43.41 million yuan in return.

"Du should be severely penalized for the crime of bribery, as the amount of his bribes was extremely large, and his behavior had seriously undermined the order and environment of fair competition in the soccer field," the court said.

Considering his confession to the offense, disclosure of unknown bribery instances, some unsuccessful bribery attempts and returning of all illicit gains, the court added that it made the ruling with leniency.

Also on Friday, former head coach of the Chinese national men's soccer team Li Tie was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment at Xianning Intermediate People's Court for bribery-related crimes, with no further details being disclosed.

Li, 47, a native of Liaoning province, was a professional soccer player, and transitioned to coaching after retiring in 2012. He was placed under investigation for suspected corruption in late 2022, attracting widespread attention.

In March, Li pleaded guilty to the bribery when the Xianning court heard his case.

At that time, prosecutors said that Li offered bribes to those who helped him become head coach of the national men's soccer team and head of the national men's soccer selection panel, and accepted bribes after using the positions to benefit others.

Li also engaged in accepting and offering bribes by asking football clubs to cooperate in match-fixing, the prosecutors added.