Footballers bribed officials to play for China, newspaper alleges
200,000 yuan buys international call-up, claims Shanghai report, as sports minister says corruption is deeply rooted
Tania Branigan 27 January 2010
Chinese footballers paid to play in international matches, a Shanghai newspaper claimed, as the country’s sports minister warned that the roots of corruption ran deep in the game.
The allegations come weeks after the head of the Chinese Football Association and two other officials were sacked and questioned by police over match-fixing.
The state of the game has long been a matter of despair and a source of bitter humour for its followers. Despite China’s sporting excellence – it took more golds in the 2008 Olympics than any other country – its football team now ranks number 97 in the world.
That position is perhaps unsurprising when, according to the Oriental Morning Post, a bribe of 200,000 yuan (£18,000) could win a footballer a call-up to a match. That is a huge sum, given the low wages earned by most players.
Further down the scale, a single trip to the national youth squad’s camp cost 80,000 yuan, while a place at the adult camp cost 100,000 yuan, the newspaper said. It did not say who received the bribes, although football association officials have considerable control over staff and coaching decisions.
An association spokesman told the Associated Press he would need permission from higher ranking officials to comment on the report.
The fresh scandal came as sports minister Liu Peng warned that growing revenue could create new opportunities for corruption.
Despite poor performance and anger at corruption, the 16-team China Super League set a record attendance average of 16,300 a game last season. Nike and Pirelli have made a combined annual commitment of $22m (£13.56m) to sponsor the league.
“China’s sports have developed well in the past few years and we are better off now. As the industry grows, there are increasing title sponsorships and advertising revenue so it is becoming a high-risk area for corruption,” Liu told a national meeting of sports bureau chiefs.
According to state news agency Xinhua, he added: “We are very sad and deeply shocked by the serious problems exposed recently in football. The roots of the problem go back a long way. It is a warning to us that we have a long way to go to rule out corruption among sports officials.”
China Daily said he vowed “no mercy” for those engaged in match-fixing and gambling.
The campaign to curb abuses began last August but took off in earnest after China’s president, Hu Jintao, voiced concerns about the sport late last year.
Last month more than 20 sports officials were detained on suspicion of charges including bribing or threatening players and referees to determine the outcome of games. That was followed by the arrest and dismissal of officials including football association head Nan Yong, who had earlier condemned match-fixing as a “cancer” which needed to be eradicated ruthlessly.
Lang Xiaonong, a former official with the football association, told China Daily the problems were structural. “A small number of top officials made all the decisions on Chinese soccer and determined the destiny of the sport. There was not enough discussion nor democratic decision-making, let alone democratic supervision,” he said.
The latest revelations have further depressed supporters. “I have felt more and more disappointed as more and more scandals have come out,” said 29-year-old Ma Rui from Beijing, who has been following football for over a decade.
“Even North Korea’s team is now better than ours. When I watch its team playing I feel it is very pure, but there are too many things like money and business involved in Chinese football.”
He added: “There is still hope. What Chinese football needs most is a good environment and I believe that could be created, depending on how tough they are in clearing it up this time. Exploding these scandals is a good thing.”
1 comment:
Footballers bribed officials to play for China, newspaper alleges
200,000 yuan buys international call-up, claims Shanghai report, as sports minister says corruption is deeply rooted
Tania Branigan
27 January 2010
Chinese footballers paid to play in international matches, a Shanghai newspaper claimed, as the country’s sports minister warned that the roots of corruption ran deep in the game.
The allegations come weeks after the head of the Chinese Football Association and two other officials were sacked and questioned by police over match-fixing.
The state of the game has long been a matter of despair and a source of bitter humour for its followers. Despite China’s sporting excellence – it took more golds in the 2008 Olympics than any other country – its football team now ranks number 97 in the world.
That position is perhaps unsurprising when, according to the Oriental Morning Post, a bribe of 200,000 yuan (£18,000) could win a footballer a call-up to a match. That is a huge sum, given the low wages earned by most players.
Further down the scale, a single trip to the national youth squad’s camp cost 80,000 yuan, while a place at the adult camp cost 100,000 yuan, the newspaper said. It did not say who received the bribes, although football association officials have considerable control over staff and coaching decisions.
An association spokesman told the Associated Press he would need permission from higher ranking officials to comment on the report.
The fresh scandal came as sports minister Liu Peng warned that growing revenue could create new opportunities for corruption.
Despite poor performance and anger at corruption, the 16-team China Super League set a record attendance average of 16,300 a game last season. Nike and Pirelli have made a combined annual commitment of $22m (£13.56m) to sponsor the league.
“China’s sports have developed well in the past few years and we are better off now. As the industry grows, there are increasing title sponsorships and advertising revenue so it is becoming a high-risk area for corruption,” Liu told a national meeting of sports bureau chiefs.
According to state news agency Xinhua, he added: “We are very sad and deeply shocked by the serious problems exposed recently in football. The roots of the problem go back a long way. It is a warning to us that we have a long way to go to rule out corruption among sports officials.”
China Daily said he vowed “no mercy” for those engaged in match-fixing and gambling.
The campaign to curb abuses began last August but took off in earnest after China’s president, Hu Jintao, voiced concerns about the sport late last year.
Last month more than 20 sports officials were detained on suspicion of charges including bribing or threatening players and referees to determine the outcome of games. That was followed by the arrest and dismissal of officials including football association head Nan Yong, who had earlier condemned match-fixing as a “cancer” which needed to be eradicated ruthlessly.
Lang Xiaonong, a former official with the football association, told China Daily the problems were structural. “A small number of top officials made all the decisions on Chinese soccer and determined the destiny of the sport. There was not enough discussion nor democratic decision-making, let alone democratic supervision,” he said.
The latest revelations have further depressed supporters. “I have felt more and more disappointed as more and more scandals have come out,” said 29-year-old Ma Rui from Beijing, who has been following football for over a decade.
“Even North Korea’s team is now better than ours. When I watch its team playing I feel it is very pure, but there are too many things like money and business involved in Chinese football.”
He added: “There is still hope. What Chinese football needs most is a good environment and I believe that could be created, depending on how tough they are in clearing it up this time. Exploding these scandals is a good thing.”
Post a Comment