Chinese football legend and Everton player Li Tie gets 20 years for corruption
The national men’s team coach and former English Premier League player is the latest high-profile sports figure to fall in China’s anti-graft campaign
Chinese former football star Li Tie, who was also coach of the country’s national men’s team, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for corruption – one of the heaviest penalties imposed in the nationwide clampdown on the sporting sector.
Li, who was a midfielder for the English Premier League side Everton in the 2000s, was convicted on Friday of taking more than 110 million yuan (US$15.1 million) in bribes between 2015 and 2021.
An intermediate court in China’s Hubei province handed down the conviction and sentence after Li pleaded guilty to the charges in a trial in March, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Prosecutors said that Li – who played in all three of China’s matches in the 2002 World Cup before signing for Everton – accepted more than 50 million yuan (US$6.8 million) in bribes from 2019 to 2021 when he was coach of China’s national team.
The court heard that during this period Li offered favours to particular players and clubs. He also offered bribes of about 3 million yuan (US$412,800) to get his coaching role with the national team in 2019.
Li was also convicted of match-fixing from 2015-19 – when he held managing roles with first Hebei Football Club and then Wuhan Zall – involving more than 39 million yuan (US$5.3 million).
