Former Chinese national football team head coach sentenced to 20 years in prison for bribery

(Photo/CCTV)

Former Chinese national football team head coach Li Tie was sentenced to 20 years in prison in a first-instance verdict on Friday for a number of charges including offering and accepting bribes.

The verdict was made by the Intermediate People's Court of Xianning, Central China's Hubei Province.

From 2019 to 2021, Li, taking advantage of his position as the head coach of the Chinese men's national football team, illegally accepted bribes totaling over 50.89 million yuan ($7.04 million), the Beijing Daily reported, citing revelations from the courts.

From 2015 to 2019, while working at the Hebei Huaxia Fortune Soccer Club and the Wuhan Zall Club, Li bribed other football clubs to cooperate or play passively during matches in order to win or achieve favorable outcomes, with the amount totaling over 39.05 million yuan.

From 2017 to 2019, leveraging his positions as general manager and head coach at the Wuhan club, Li received a total of 26.75 million yuan from the Hebei club to assist it in player transfers and winning matches.

Before the sentencing of Li, media reports show that 15 people have been sentenced in the ongoing anti-corruption campaign in China's football field.

On the same day of Li Tie's sentencing, the case of Du Zhaocai, former deputy director of the General Administration of Sport of China, for accepting bribes is also set to be sentenced. During the public trial in August, Du was accused of using his position to directly or indirectly, through relatives and others, illegally accept over 43.41 million yuan in bribes.