High-ranking Chinese Football Officials Sentenced Amid Ongoing Anti-Corruption Crackdown

Two former senior officials from the Chinese Football Association have received prison sentences for their involvement in bribery. Liu Yi, who served as the CFA’s secretary-general since his appointment in 2018 and was re-elected in 2019, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison and fined 3.6 million yuan. His case, which culminated in a ruling by the Intermediate People’s Court of Xianning in Hubei Province, began with an investigation in January 2023. A high-profile documentary earlier in 2024 cited allegations that he received a bribe of 1 million yuan from former national team head coach Li Tie in exchange for securing the coaching position.

In a related case, Tan Hai, the former head of the CFA’s Referee Management Department, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison along with a fine of 200,000 yuan. Tan, who had previously been recognized with the Golden Whistle award for his excellence as a referee in top-tier Chinese football, was appointed director of the CFA Referee Management Department in 2018. His sentencing by the People’s Court of Shishou in Hubei adds to the growing list of football-related officials facing legal action.

The sentencing of Liu and Tan follows the case of Qi Jun, the former director of the Strategic Planning Department at the CFA, who was recently sentenced to seven years in prison with a fine of 600,000 yuan. Since November 2022, investigations have been launched into a total of 18 officials connected to Chinese football, and apart from the majority who have been sentenced, other high-profile figures such as Li Tie and Du Zhaocai are still awaiting verdicts. This wave of convictions underscores an intensive effort to cleanse corruption from the sport in China.