Five former soccer officials jailed for graft

Five former senior soccer officials were handed prison terms in Hubei province on Tuesday for corruption-related crimes.

Chen Xuyuan, former head of the Chinese Football Association, was sentenced to life by the Intermediate People's Court in Huangshi for accepting bribes, and all his personal assets were ordered to be confiscated.

The illicit gains that Chen made and the interests earned from them have also been ordered to be turned over to the national treasury by the court.

According to the court, from 2010 to 2023, Chen misused his positions, including that as president of the Shanghai International Port Group and president of the football association, to seek benefits for certain departments and individuals in awarding projects, investments and event arrangements.

In return, he accepted bribes of over 81.03 million yuan ($11.2 million), of which he could get his hands on all but 4 million yuan, it added.

The court identified Chen's crime as bribery, adding that the amount of bribes taken was "extremely large".

It said that Chen should be harshly punished, as he illegally helped others procure promotions in their jobs and work placements of their choice in return for bribes. He also sought illicit profits for multiple soccer clubs and local associations in matters such as match arrangements, league promotions and referee decisions during his tenure at the CFA.

"The acts have seriously disrupted the order of fair competition and the environment of the sport, causing severe harm to the development of national soccer," it added.

Considering that he could not get his hands on some of the bribe amounts, and because he pleaded guilty, voluntarily confessed to taking bribes that investigators did not know about, reported offenses committed by others and returned all illicit gains, the court said he could be leniently penalized in line with the law.

Also on Tuesday, Yu Hongchen, Chen Yongliang, Dong Zheng and Liu Lei, four others who had been engaged in soccer corruption, were also handed prison terms.

Yu, former head of the Chinese Athletics Association who once served as vice-president of the CFA, was sentenced to 13 years in prison, along with a fine of 2 million yuan, for accepting bribes of over 22.54 million yuan.

Chen, former executive deputy secretary-general of the CFA, received a 14-year sentence and a fine of 2.2 million yuan for giving and accepting bribes.

Dong, former general manager of the Chinese Super League, was sentenced to eight years and fined 2 million yuan for accepting bribes, while Liu, former deputy head of the competition department of the Wuhan Football Management Center, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison, along with a fine of 300,000 yuan, for giving and accepting bribes.

In recent years, China's anti-corruption efforts in the soccer sector have been ramped up to promote the healthy development of the sport.

Earlier this month, the General Administration of Sport of China noted that more needs to be done in the fight against corruption, saying that systemic corruption has wreaked havoc in the soccer sector, letting down the central government and fans.

The rampant abuse of power, match-fixing and bribery should be blamed for the sport's stagnant development and poor management, the administration added.

caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn