CFA probes alleged involvement of three officials in seedy South Korean soccer scandal

The Chinese Football Association confirmed on Wednesday that it is investigating the potential involvement of a delegation of its own staff in a decade-old scandal that was recently exposed by South Korean media.

The CFA said in the statement that it is aware of recent media reports in South Korea alleging that three Chinese soccer officials had been provided with "inappropriate hospitality services", arranged by the Korean Football Association during an exchange program in early 2012, and that it has launched a probe into the case.

"The CFA takes the allegations extremely seriously and has launched an investigation, the results of which will be released to the public in a timely manner," said the statement.

According to South Korean media reports, citing a 2016 audit by South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, those "inappropriate services" included entertainment at massage parlors and illegally hiring prostitutes. Such services were provided to at least a dozen foreign referees and match officials connected to seven matches — three World Cup and Olympic qualifiers and four international friendlies — played in South Korea between March 2011 and March 2012.

The three Chinese officials, so far unidentified in any media reports, were allegedly among recipients of the "sexual bribery".

The South Korean national team won five and drew two of those matches, fueling speculation that results might have been influenced, but South Korean officials have denied such claims.

According to Chinese media reports, after reviewing CFA official news releases from the period, there were indeed three association officials in charge of referee management, accounting and daily affairs visiting South Korea for communication and training events back in January 2012. As yet, no names have been confirmed.

According to the 2016 audit report by the South Korean ministry, which was first revealed by South Korean media outlet JTBC on Aug 6, payments were made at a massage parlor in Yeoksam-dong in Seoul's Gangnam district with a Korean Football Association corporate credit card, an anomaly that was caught by the ministerial audit.

Amid growing public concern, the CFA stressed that it will strictly verify all relevant facts, sort out the details of the cross-border exchange activity and the alleged inappropriate reception, and disclose the final outcome of the investigation to the public without delay.

No preliminary findings or suspected disciplinary penalties have been released by the CFA so far.

As China's soccer governing body continues to deepen its anti-corruption push within the domestic game, the probe into this decade-old scandal will serve as another key step to regulate officials' behavior and restore public trust, said observers.