China cracks down on soccer match-fixing with 43 bans from the sport

China’s Football Association is in the midst of one of its biggest scandals after the association meted out lifelong bans to 43 individuals who have been embroiled in a match-fixing scandal and widespread corruption across the organization’s different tiers.

China’s soccer sullied by match-fixing scandal of unprecedented proportions

The news was reported by the government’s mouthpiece, Xinhua News Agency earlier this week and cited by Reuters, saying that the bans were the result of a meticulous two-year investigation that took significant effort in uncovering the illicit network within the organization.

A total of 120 games in domestic leagues were investigated, Zhang Xiaopeng, a police officer said during a press conference, cited by the media. A total of 128 criminal suspects were identified, and a further 41 clubs were involved.

The outlet added that five club officials and 38 players were banned, pointing to widespread corruption in the domestic soccer scene, something that authorities have now set out to rectify. Apart from the 43 lifelong bans, the move has seen a number of other players embroiled.

Notably, foreigners who have been attracted to compete locally, and have been found complicit with the illegal activity, were issued shorter bans in a bid to make an example of them, but not act over-harshly lest it spooks potential overseas recruits.

Chinese soccer is in tatters despite efforts to strengthen the ecosystem

China has been trying to develop its soccer ecosystem for a long while now, with the country vowing to build new stadiums and promote the sport. However, the country’s track record in regional and international competitions has been spotty and mostly underwhelming with the country only qualifying for the World Cup once.

China has been also pushing against illegal gambling with the country banning scores of illegal gambling sites and cracking down on numerous domestic operations, which has results in the arrests of thousands of suspects.

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