Ex-Shanghai soccer stars arrested in bribery probe
By Ni Yinbin |
March 24, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
FOUR former Shanghai soccer stars have been arrested over allegations they took 8 million yuan (US$1.27 million) in bribes to fix matches in 2003.
Former Shanghai International midfielders Shen Si and Qi Hong, defender Li Ming and goalkeeper Jiang Jin are said to have taken the money to fix at least two games in the 2002/03 Jia-A League, the Morning Express newspaper reported yesterday.
It is the first time former Shanghai players have been connected to investigations which began early last year into a nationwide match-rigging scandal.
The four are alleged to have helped fix a derby game against Shanghai Shenhua and the final match of the season against Tianjin Teda.
The results meant that Shenhua won the championship that year and Teda avoided relegation.
The four were detained and questioned by police in northeastern Liaoning Province last October and it is believed their arrests could be related to an ongoing investigation into Nan Yong, former head of the Chinese Football Association, and Zhang Yifeng, former manager of Tianjin Teda.
Shen, 37, was head coach at Shanghai Pudong Zhongbang FC and Qi, 34, was an assistant coach of the Chinese women's national team before they were detained in October.
Li, 36, and Jiang, 42, are believed to be no longer involved in the game.
The most notorious match-fixing scandal was when Shanghai Shenhua beat Shanghai International in the Jia-A League in 2003 before it became the Chinese Super League. International had been leading second-place Shenhua by two points before the match.
The four arrested all played in the match which was refereed by Lu Jun.
Lu, China's former World Cup referee, was jailed for five and a half years and fined 100,000 yuan last month for taking a total of 810,000 yuan to rig seven matches between 1999 and 2003. The 52-year-old took 350,000 yuan from Shenhua to help fix the derby match which Shenhua won 4-1.
It was Li's last match for International. The club ruled he had been cheating and he never played for the team again.
Shen, Qi and Jiang played in the last game of the 2003 league against Tianjin Teda which International, now one point behind Shenhua, lost 2-1, not only losing the title but allowing Teda to remain in the following season's Chinese Super League.
Shen and Qi helped Shanghai Shenhua win the first division league in 1995 and all four played for the national side.
Qi and Jiang played an important role in 2001 in helping China qualify for the World Cup in South Korea-Japan.
Shen and Qi went to International in 2002 for then record transfer fees of 9 and 9.5 million yuan, respectively.
In earlier trials, former CFA Vice President Yang Yimin was jailed for 10 and a half years for taking 1.25 million yuan.
Zhang Jianqiang, former director of the CFA's referee committee, got 12 years for taking bribes totaling 2.73 million yuan.
Three other referees - Huang Junjie, Zhou Weixin and Wan Daxue - were sentenced to seven, three-and-a-half and six years, respectively, and fined for taking and offering bribes.
Lu Feng, former general manager of the Super League, was jailed for six and a half years for bribery.
Dozens of former staff members from other professional clubs who were involved in football corruption, match-fixing or gambling have also been sentenced.
Several former members of the CFA are currently awaiting trial.
Former Shanghai International midfielders Shen Si and Qi Hong, defender Li Ming and goalkeeper Jiang Jin are said to have taken the money to fix at least two games in the 2002/03 Jia-A League, the Morning Express newspaper reported yesterday.
It is the first time former Shanghai players have been connected to investigations which began early last year into a nationwide match-rigging scandal.
The four are alleged to have helped fix a derby game against Shanghai Shenhua and the final match of the season against Tianjin Teda.
The results meant that Shenhua won the championship that year and Teda avoided relegation.
The four were detained and questioned by police in northeastern Liaoning Province last October and it is believed their arrests could be related to an ongoing investigation into Nan Yong, former head of the Chinese Football Association, and Zhang Yifeng, former manager of Tianjin Teda.
Shen, 37, was head coach at Shanghai Pudong Zhongbang FC and Qi, 34, was an assistant coach of the Chinese women's national team before they were detained in October.
Li, 36, and Jiang, 42, are believed to be no longer involved in the game.
The most notorious match-fixing scandal was when Shanghai Shenhua beat Shanghai International in the Jia-A League in 2003 before it became the Chinese Super League. International had been leading second-place Shenhua by two points before the match.
The four arrested all played in the match which was refereed by Lu Jun.
Lu, China's former World Cup referee, was jailed for five and a half years and fined 100,000 yuan last month for taking a total of 810,000 yuan to rig seven matches between 1999 and 2003. The 52-year-old took 350,000 yuan from Shenhua to help fix the derby match which Shenhua won 4-1.
It was Li's last match for International. The club ruled he had been cheating and he never played for the team again.
Shen, Qi and Jiang played in the last game of the 2003 league against Tianjin Teda which International, now one point behind Shenhua, lost 2-1, not only losing the title but allowing Teda to remain in the following season's Chinese Super League.
Shen and Qi helped Shanghai Shenhua win the first division league in 1995 and all four played for the national side.
Qi and Jiang played an important role in 2001 in helping China qualify for the World Cup in South Korea-Japan.
Shen and Qi went to International in 2002 for then record transfer fees of 9 and 9.5 million yuan, respectively.
In earlier trials, former CFA Vice President Yang Yimin was jailed for 10 and a half years for taking 1.25 million yuan.
Zhang Jianqiang, former director of the CFA's referee committee, got 12 years for taking bribes totaling 2.73 million yuan.
Three other referees - Huang Junjie, Zhou Weixin and Wan Daxue - were sentenced to seven, three-and-a-half and six years, respectively, and fined for taking and offering bribes.
Lu Feng, former general manager of the Super League, was jailed for six and a half years for bribery.
Dozens of former staff members from other professional clubs who were involved in football corruption, match-fixing or gambling have also been sentenced.
Several former members of the CFA are currently awaiting trial.
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