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Guilty plea at 1st soccer graft trial
By Ni Yinbin |
December 20, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
The long-awaited trials involving corruption in Chinese soccer began yesterday with the court appearance of former official Zhang Jianqiang.
At the Intermediate People's Court of Tieling in northeastern Liaoning Province, Zhang, 59, former director of the Chinese Football Association's referee committee, admitted taking more than 2.7 million yuan (US$425,137) in bribes from clubs.
At the time of his arrest in March, Zhang turned in more than 2.6 million of the bribe money.
The court didn't announce a sentence yesterday.
The clubs involved included Shandong Luneng and Shanghai Shenhua.
Prosecutors said Zhang took 400,000 yuan from Shandong Luneng to help it win the then Jia-A League championship in 1999.
Zhang also took 100,000 yuan from Shanghai Shenhua the same year when it ended fifth in the league.
In 2003, Shenhua is said to have given Zhang 350,000 yuan to win the derby against Shanghai International and the club later won the league championship.
More than 20 people, most former CFA and club officials, will stand trial in the same court this week. The former general manager of Shaanxi Guoli club, Wang Po, appears today on charges of taking bribes and fraud, followed by Yang Yimin, ex-deputy director of the CFA and the China General Administration of Sports' football administrative center, who will face charges of taking bribes tomorrow.
Meanwhile, several top referees, including Lu Jun, several times named the country's "Golden Whistle," are going on trial this week in the Intermediate People's Court of Dandong in Liaoning.
Lu Jun officiated in more than 200 top-level matches and at the 2002 World Cup and Olympic Games.
Lu announced his retirement in 2005 but was detained for bribery in 2010.
Lu is said to have officiated at the 2003 derby match involving Shanghai Shenhua. Lu, with Zhang acting as the middleman, is said to have received 350,000 yuan to help Shenhua win.
China's professional leagues have been plagued with allegations of gambling, match-fixing and crooked referees for years, which, coupled with the national side's poor performances, have long made soccer a source of disappointment for diehard fans.
A nationwide crackdown on gambling and match-fixing began in March 2009.
Since then, several officials, referees and former players have been detained, including former CFA Vice-President Nan Yong and his predecessor Xie Yalong.
A date for the trials of Nan and Xie has yet to be announced.
Outside the court in Tieling yesterday, soccer fan Li Songhua held up two placards which read: "The rebirth of Chinese soccer" and "Hopefully, the resurrection of Chinese soccer starts right here."
A statement from China's General Administration of Sports released yesterday said: "Soccer corruption breached the country's law and tarnished the image of the sport as well as the healthy development of soccer in China, leading to a very bad impact on the game."
At the Intermediate People's Court of Tieling in northeastern Liaoning Province, Zhang, 59, former director of the Chinese Football Association's referee committee, admitted taking more than 2.7 million yuan (US$425,137) in bribes from clubs.
At the time of his arrest in March, Zhang turned in more than 2.6 million of the bribe money.
The court didn't announce a sentence yesterday.
The clubs involved included Shandong Luneng and Shanghai Shenhua.
Prosecutors said Zhang took 400,000 yuan from Shandong Luneng to help it win the then Jia-A League championship in 1999.
Zhang also took 100,000 yuan from Shanghai Shenhua the same year when it ended fifth in the league.
In 2003, Shenhua is said to have given Zhang 350,000 yuan to win the derby against Shanghai International and the club later won the league championship.
More than 20 people, most former CFA and club officials, will stand trial in the same court this week. The former general manager of Shaanxi Guoli club, Wang Po, appears today on charges of taking bribes and fraud, followed by Yang Yimin, ex-deputy director of the CFA and the China General Administration of Sports' football administrative center, who will face charges of taking bribes tomorrow.
Meanwhile, several top referees, including Lu Jun, several times named the country's "Golden Whistle," are going on trial this week in the Intermediate People's Court of Dandong in Liaoning.
Lu Jun officiated in more than 200 top-level matches and at the 2002 World Cup and Olympic Games.
Lu announced his retirement in 2005 but was detained for bribery in 2010.
Lu is said to have officiated at the 2003 derby match involving Shanghai Shenhua. Lu, with Zhang acting as the middleman, is said to have received 350,000 yuan to help Shenhua win.
China's professional leagues have been plagued with allegations of gambling, match-fixing and crooked referees for years, which, coupled with the national side's poor performances, have long made soccer a source of disappointment for diehard fans.
A nationwide crackdown on gambling and match-fixing began in March 2009.
Since then, several officials, referees and former players have been detained, including former CFA Vice-President Nan Yong and his predecessor Xie Yalong.
A date for the trials of Nan and Xie has yet to be announced.
Outside the court in Tieling yesterday, soccer fan Li Songhua held up two placards which read: "The rebirth of Chinese soccer" and "Hopefully, the resurrection of Chinese soccer starts right here."
A statement from China's General Administration of Sports released yesterday said: "Soccer corruption breached the country's law and tarnished the image of the sport as well as the healthy development of soccer in China, leading to a very bad impact on the game."
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