The Chinese Football Association has issued lifetime bans to 38 players and five club officials as part of a sweeping crackdown on corruption within Chinese football.
This action follows a two-year investigation that uncovered extensive match-fixing and gambling activities.
A senior official from the Ministry of Public Security, Zhang Xiaopeng, pointed out that the investigation revealed that 120 matches had been manipulated, implicating 41 football clubs.
The specific details about whether these matches were confined to domestic games or included international fixtures were not disclosed.
The investigation led to severe penalties; 44 individuals face criminal charges related to bribery, gambling, and operating illegal casinos.
Among these, 43 individuals have been permanently banned from all football-related activities in China, while 17 others received five-year bans. Notable names among those banned for life include former Chinese internationals Jin Jingdao, Guo Tianyu, and Gu Chao, as well as South Korean player Son Jun-ho.
Son had been detained for 10 months before his release in March, after which he returned to South Korea.
Despite the gravity of the situation, none of the players involved have publicly commented on the matter.
The announcement of these sanctions comes just before a World Cup qualifier in Dalian, where China is set to face Saudi Arabia following a heavy 7-0 defeat to Japan the previous week.
This crackdown is part of a broader effort to combat corruption in Chinese football, a sport long plagued by allegations of match-fixing and bribery.
Recent high-profile convictions include a former vice president of the national football association sentenced to 11 years in prison for accepting bribes, and a former competition department director who received a seven-year prison term.
Additionally, a former CFA chairman was sentenced to life imprisonment in March, underscoring the ongoing battle against corruption in the sport.
