Two ex-soccer officials sentenced to 11 years

Two former soccer officials were each sentenced to 11 years in prison on Monday in Hubei province as part of China's ongoing crackdown on corruption in the soccer industry.

Li Yuyi, former vice-chairman of the Chinese Football Association, was sentenced to 11 years and fined 1 million yuan ($140,000) by the Intermediate People's Court of Jingzhou. Prosecutors revealed that Li exploited his various positions from 2004 to 2021 in Shanghai's Jinshan district, the Chinese Football Association and the Chinese Football Association Super League to do favors for others, including assisting football clubs facing relegation and helping companies secure construction projects. He was found guilty of accepting over 12 million yuan in bribes for his efforts.

In a separate case, the people's court of Jiayu county sentenced Fu Xiang, former director of the Wuhan Football Sport Management Center, to 11 years in prison and fined him 1.4 million yuan for embezzlement and bribery. The courts ordered the recovery of the embezzled funds and the confiscation of assets obtained through bribery.

The sentences are part of a broader anti-corruption campaign that has swept through Chinese soccer since November 2022, following the investigation of Li Tie, former head coach of the national men's soccer team. Over a dozen high-ranking officials have since been implicated.

In March, the trials of five corruption cases related to soccer were announced, including the sentencing of Chen Xuyuan, former chairman of the Chinese Football Association, to life imprisonment for accepting bribes worth over 81 million yuan ($11.3 million).

Despite the progress made in the anti-corruption efforts, Xi Hua, head of the discipline inspection and supervision team stationed at the General Administration of Sport, said at a meeting in March that significant issues remain, including the exploitation for personal gain of opportunities in commercial cooperation, equipment procurement and event organization.