Game changing moves

An anti-corruption campaign in sports is under way. Attention is now being focused on the court sessions that will be held this week in two small cities in Northeast China's Liaoning province. These should help clean up the country's professional soccer, which has become infamous for its corruption in recent years after a series of scandals.

Earlier this year, a crackdown on soccer match-fixing and gambling ended with the arrest of a number of soccer officials, coaches, referees and senior club executives; among them, Xie Yalong, Nan Yong and Yang Yimin, all of whom are former vice-chairmen of the Chinese Football Association (CFA).

Aside from the three former heads of the CFA, the investigation has netted two directors of the CFA referees' committee and a dozen referees. The CFA officials reportedly accepted bribes from players wanting to be named in the national team.