“China Imposes Lifetime Football Bans on 43 for Gambling and Match-Fixing”

On Tuesday, Chinese football imposed lifetime bans on 43 individuals, including three former China internationals and South Korean World Cup player Son Jun-ho, due to their alleged involvement in gambling and match-fixing scandals, according to state media.

This action is part of a broader crackdown under President Xi Jinping, who has intensified efforts to combat corruption in Chinese sports, particularly football. Xi, a known football enthusiast, has expressed a vision of China hosting and winning the World Cup, but recent corruption scandals and lackluster performances have put this dream further out of reach.

The banned individuals are among 128 people implicated in a two-year investigation into illegal gambling and match-fixing within the domestic league, as reported by China’s public security ministry. The announcement came just hours before China’s 2026 World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia and a week after the national team’s embarrassing 7-0 loss to Japan.

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has accused Son Jun-ho, who played for Shandong Taishan in the Chinese Super League, of engaging in match-fixing and accepting bribes. Son, who featured in three of South Korea’s four matches at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, was held in China since May 2023 before returning to South Korea in March 2024. At the time of his detention, Beijing cited “suspicion of accepting bribes by non-state employees” without providing further details.

Also on the banned list is former Chinese international Jin Jingdao, a former player for Shandong Taishan.

China’s football governing body, the CFA, has faced significant scrutiny, with around ten high-ranking officials having been implicated in corruption investigations. In March, Chen Xuyuan, the former CFA chairman, was sentenced to life in prison for accepting “particularly huge” bribes totaling 81.03 million yuan (approximately $11 million). His actions were said to have severely damaged fair competition and order in the sport.

That same month, former national team coach and ex-Everton midfielder Li Tie admitted to accepting over $10.7 million in bribes and participating in match-fixing. Additionally, in May, former General Administration of Sport of China director Gou Zhongwen was reported to be under investigation for corruption.

In August, a Chinese court sentenced Li Yuyi, a former CFA vice president, to 11 years in prison for bribery, imposed a $140,000 fine, and ordered the confiscation of assets obtained through corruption.