Chinese football corrupt all the way through, and recent crackdown not the end: observers
The recent jailing of former player and coach Li Tie, along with other high-level figures, may only be the tips of a massive iceberg
China’s recent crackdown on corruption in football is not the end because the sport in the country is rotten to the core, observers have declared.
On Friday, Li Tie, a former coach of the men’s national team, was sentenced to 20 years in jail for bribery just days after three former Chinese Football Association (CFA) officials were also imprisoned.
Li’s sentencing was the pinnacle of a crackdown that started earlier this year and which had also seen players, coaches and officials banned from the sport and sent to prison.
“The biggest tragedy is that Chinese parents don’t want their kids to be involved when there is such disgusting corruption,” said Rowan Simons, author of Bamboo Goalposts, a book about his efforts to develop grass roots football in China.
“Corruption is reported to run all the way through the system, even to junior levels. There are reports of parents having to pay the coach to get their kids selected, and that the coaches have paid the associations to be appointed. This is the saddest thing.
“On one side, it’s good that the corruption has been rooted out, but on the other hand … what does that tell parents who would otherwise focus on the many benefits of playing football? It makes the work of all those dedicated to our game so much harder.”
