Former Chinese football coach Li Tie pleads guilty to corruption charges

First the former president of the national association was sentenced to life imprisonment, now the former coach of the national team from 2020 to 2021 is accused of fraudulently paying and receiving money fraudulently and fixing matches. Li Tie pleaded guilty last Wednesday.

Chinese football wants to clean up its image. It is launching an anti-corruption campaign. Former Chinese football coach and ex-Everton midfielder Li Tie pleaded guilty on Thursday to taking more than $10 million in bribes, a court heard. It is part of a wider crackdown on corruption in Chinese football.

First it was the former president of the Chinese Football Association, Chen Xuyuan, who was sentenced to life in prison this week for taking $11 million in bribes. Now it's the former coach's turn. China's legal system is tightly controlled by the ruling Communist Party, and the courts have an almost 100 per cent conviction rate in criminal cases.

Li, China's coach from January 2020 to December 2021, is accused of giving and receiving bribes and taking part in match-fixing. The court in Hubei province announced the charges on Thursday, reports AFP. Local journalists gathered outside the court.

Li Tie was the manager of China between 2020 and 2021. GETTY IMAGES

Li, 46, was on trial for accepting more than 77 million yuan ($10.7 million) in bribes between 2017 and 2021, including during his time as coach of the Wuhan Zall club, the court said. "Li Tie made his final statement, pleaded guilty and expressed remorse," the court said, adding that the sentence would be announced later.

He made 34 Premier League appearances between 2002 and 2004. In January, he was featured in a documentary by state broadcaster CCTV about widespread corruption in Chinese football. The former player was a symbol of the country's football because of his sporting career, which allowed him to play in the Premier League, one of the world's most important competitions.

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) published a notice on Thu to openly hire #football social supervisors nationwide. This move took place after China intensified its battle against football corruption. The CFA also issued interim measures to allow the public to report… pic.twitter.com/knJshbMnwo
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) March 28, 2024

The station regularly broadcasts confessions from suspected criminals before they appear in court, a practice widely condemned by human rights groups but which attracts a large audience.

In the programme, Li admitted that when he was a club coach in the Chinese Super League, he arranged nearly $421,000 in bribes to secure head coaching positions and helped fix matches. "I am very sorry. I should have kept my feet on the ground and done what's right. There were certain things that were common practice in football at the time," Li said, according to AFP. He has been in custody for several months.