China Soccer Crackdown Brings Lifetime Bans for Former Club Executives
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China’s soccer authorities issued a new round of punishments in a widening crackdown on match-fixing, gambling and corruption, imposing lifetime bans on 17 people and shorter bans on 48 others, including former executives at some of the country’s best-known clubs.
The Chinese Football Association said Thursday that the 17 people had been found by courts to have committed crimes and would be barred for life from any soccer-related activity. The association also said 48 people who had seriously violated industry rules would be banned from soccer-related work for five years or less.
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- between 2017 and 2018：
- Meizhou Hakka Football Club violated sports ethics and engaged in improper transactions for illegitimate benefits, as found by court judgments.
- late 2022：
- Li Tie, former head coach of China's men's national team, was placed under investigation, initiating an anti-corruption drive in the soccer sector.
- September 2024：
- CFA announced punishments for 61 soccer-industry personnel connected to a police investigation into gambling and match-fixing; 43 were banned for life from soccer-related activities in China.
- April 2025：
- A court upheld Li Tie's 20-year prison sentence on five criminal counts.
- January 2026：
- CFA announced penalties including point deductions and fines against 13 clubs, and lifetime bans on 73 people (including Chen Xuyuan and Li Tie) with five-year bans on three others.
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