Football club manager, Team China linked to graft

The former boss of Shanghai Shenhua and two former national team members have been taken into custody for questioning in China’s ever-widening football graft scandal, state press said Tuesday.

All have been brought in to “aid” the police investigation, which has already led to the arrest of two chiefs of the Chinese Football Association, the Xinmin Evening News said.

Without citing sources, the leading Shanghai paper outlined an intricately orchestrated scheme of pay-offs and bribes in China’s professional league that determined who won the championship and which teams were relegated.

Former Shanghai Shenhua manager Lou Shifang could be facing a probe into 200 million yuan (30 million dollars) in alleged bribes paid in 2003 when the team won China’s Super League title, the paper said.

Lou is also believed to have been involved in a scam with the arrested former manager of Tianjin Teda, Zhang Yifeng, to help Tianjin avoid relegation that same year, the paper said.

Both allegedly had dealings with former CFA boss Nan Yong, who was arrested earlier this year and charged with fixing matches and accepting bribes.

Gambling, match-fixing and crooked referees in the nation’s professional leagues have made the sport the laughing stock of fans and a matter of mounting state concern.

Earlier this month, police arrested Nan’s predecessor Xie Yalong, the ex-manager of China’s national team Wei Shaohui, and Li Dongsheng, the former director of Chinese football’s referee committee.

All three were charged with match-fixing and accepting bribes, China Central Television reported at the time of their arrests.

According to Shanghai’s Eastern Sports Daily, former national team players Qi Hong and Jiang Jin were taken into custody, reportedly to aid in a probe into alleged match-fixing during China’s qualifying run for the 2002 World Cup.

Six former national team players are suspected of involvement in irregularities related to the Cup drive, the paper said, without naming names or detailing their alleged crimes.

According to state media, CFA officials routinely fixed matches, including national team and league games, by allegedly buying off the teams or referees involved.

As soon as matches were fixed, the officials would allegedly gamble on the outcome, the leading Titan Sports Weekly reported in September.

The suspect CFA officials also reportedly accepted pay-offs from players wanting to be named to the national team — a practice that was also widespread among league clubs.