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Thursday 28 January 2010
Another day, another raft of soccer scandals
Footballers paying big bribes for places at the national team’s training camp and even bigger ones to play in international games. Foreign coaches of the national team forced to pay agents kickbacks. Another official involved in match-fixing.
Choi Chi-yuk and Associated Press in Beijing 28 January 2010
Footballers paying big bribes for places at the national team’s training camp and even bigger ones to play in international games. Foreign coaches of the national team forced to pay agents kickbacks. Another official involved in match-fixing.
Hardly a day passes without fresh revelations about the extent of corruption in mainland soccer.
In the first case, Shanghai’s Oriental Morning Post reported that a single trip to the national youth squad’s camp cost a player 80,000 yuan (HK$91,000) while a place at the adult team’s camp was 100,000 yuan. A call-up to an official match required a 200,000 yuan bribe, the paper said.
In the second case, Titan Sports, a tabloid based in Hunan, reported yesterday that some foreign coaches had to pay well-connected agents a portion of their salaries. The report said the agents corrupted members of the Chinese Football Association - including Nan Yong, sacked as vice-chairman last week after police detained him for questioning about corruption - to land the top jobs for the foreigners.
In the third case, a China Central Television report highlighted the role of soccer official Fan Guangming in fixing a second-division match between Guangzhou Pharmaceutical and Zhejiang Greentown on September 9, 2006. Fan and others were arrested on suspicion of rigging the match by bribing players, the report said.
It said that senior officials from both clubs in the 2006 match had been keen to secure the three points for a victory and clinch promotion to the top division. Yang Xu, deputy general manager of the Guangzhou side, sought help from his friend Fan, who, in turn, called Leng Bo, the coach of a Shandong team, CCTV reported.
Leng then sought out Xing Rui, the captain of another Shandong team, Shandong Luneng, who later phoned Shen Liuxi, Zhejiang Greentown’s attacking midfielder, skipper and key playmaker.
They struck a deal after numerous phone calls, with Yang Xu promising to pay Fan and Leng 1.5 million yuan.
During the game, Shen, with the help of colluding teammates, played to half of his ability and Zhejiang Greentown struggled to generate an attack or a shot on goal, the report said. Guangzhou Pharmaceutical won the match 3-2. As soon as the referee blew the whistle to end the game, those involved cashed in. Both Fan and Leng pocketed 250,000 yuan while Xing got 330,000. Of the remaining 670,000 yuan, Shen took half and the teammates he involved shared the rest.
The state broadcaster quoted a Ministry of Public Security spokesman as saying that Fan and another soccer official, Zhang Jianqiang, had been arrested and that Nan and fellow former Chinese Football Association vice-chairman Yang Yimin - detained with him and also sacked - , had been “seized in accordance with law”. Both have now been formally arrested.
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Another day, another raft of soccer scandals
Choi Chi-yuk and Associated Press in Beijing
28 January 2010
Footballers paying big bribes for places at the national team’s training camp and even bigger ones to play in international games. Foreign coaches of the national team forced to pay agents kickbacks. Another official involved in match-fixing.
Hardly a day passes without fresh revelations about the extent of corruption in mainland soccer.
In the first case, Shanghai’s Oriental Morning Post reported that a single trip to the national youth squad’s camp cost a player 80,000 yuan (HK$91,000) while a place at the adult team’s camp was 100,000 yuan. A call-up to an official match required a 200,000 yuan bribe, the paper said.
In the second case, Titan Sports, a tabloid based in Hunan, reported yesterday that some foreign coaches had to pay well-connected agents a portion of their salaries. The report said the agents corrupted members of the Chinese Football Association - including Nan Yong, sacked as vice-chairman last week after police detained him for questioning about corruption - to land the top jobs for the foreigners.
In the third case, a China Central Television report highlighted the role of soccer official Fan Guangming in fixing a second-division match between Guangzhou Pharmaceutical and Zhejiang Greentown on September 9, 2006. Fan and others were arrested on suspicion of rigging the match by bribing players, the report said.
It said that senior officials from both clubs in the 2006 match had been keen to secure the three points for a victory and clinch promotion to the top division. Yang Xu, deputy general manager of the Guangzhou side, sought help from his friend Fan, who, in turn, called Leng Bo, the coach of a Shandong team, CCTV reported.
Leng then sought out Xing Rui, the captain of another Shandong team, Shandong Luneng, who later phoned Shen Liuxi, Zhejiang Greentown’s attacking midfielder, skipper and key playmaker.
They struck a deal after numerous phone calls, with Yang Xu promising to pay Fan and Leng 1.5 million yuan.
During the game, Shen, with the help of colluding teammates, played to half of his ability and Zhejiang Greentown struggled to generate an attack or a shot on goal, the report said. Guangzhou Pharmaceutical won the match 3-2. As soon as the referee blew the whistle to end the game, those involved cashed in. Both Fan and Leng pocketed 250,000 yuan while Xing got 330,000. Of the remaining 670,000 yuan, Shen took half and the teammates he involved shared the rest.
The state broadcaster quoted a Ministry of Public Security spokesman as saying that Fan and another soccer official, Zhang Jianqiang, had been arrested and that Nan and fellow former Chinese Football Association vice-chairman Yang Yimin - detained with him and also sacked - , had been “seized in accordance with law”. Both have now been formally arrested.
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