Ex-soccer chiefs to face trial for corruption

SHENYANG, Liaoning province - The second batch of Chinese soccer officials and players including Xie Yalong and Nan Yong, both former deputy chief of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), are to stand trial for corruption this week, the courts said.

According to a notice posted by the Intermediate People's Court of Dandong, a city in Northeast China's Liaoning province, Xie Yalong and Wei Shaohui, ex-team leader of the Chinese national squad, will face court on charges of bribe-taking on Tuesday.

Nan Yong, who succeeded Xie as the CFA deputy head, will appear on court Wednesday in another Liaoning city, Tieling, on charges of receiving bribes.

Also facing trials Wednesday in Shenyang, the capital city of Liaoning province, are four ex-players - Shen Si, Qi Hong, Li Ming and Jiang Jin on charges of "taking bribes as non-state staff."

In February this year, 39 people were handed sentences ranging from no time to 12 years behind bars in the first round of China's crackdown on soccer corruption.

China's professional soccer leagues have been plagued with allegations of gambling, match-fixing and corrupt referees for years, and the police launched a probe in 2009.