Only surgery can remove tumor from soccer

The trials of some top Chinese soccer officials and referees on corruption charges, which started in Northeast China a week ago and will continue into 2012, have implications far beyond the world of sport.

Just a week into the hearings, we have heard soccer officials, players and fans lamenting that severe punishment, such as relegating some 20 teams involved in bribery, would cripple the sport for at least the next couple of years.

That may be true, for the number of teams, led by the top performers Shandong Luneng and Shanghai Shenhua, which have bribed soccer officials and referees is really big. Relegation would mean the strongest teams being forced to play in the A League instead of the top-tier Super League next year. But such concerns are myopic. If the teams involved in bribery and other scandals are not dealt with seriously, the damage would multiply and last longer than one can imagine.