73 banned for life, top clubs fined: China's massive crackdown on match-fixing

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) announced Thursday that 73 people, including former national team coach Li Tie, have been banned for life, and 13 professional clubs have been fined for match-fixing and corruption.The punishments come as part of a wider anti-corruption campaign under President Xi Jinping, which has removed several CFA officials and banned dozens of players for match-fixing and gambling. The statement did not say when the most recent match-fixing occurred or give details of the cases.The punishments were made after a "systematic review" and were needed "to enforce industry discipline, purify the football environment, and maintain fair competition", the CFA wrote on its official social media account Thursday.Li Tie, a former Everton player who coached China’s national team from 2019 to 2021, is already serving a 20-year prison sentence for bribery, after being sentenced in December 2024.Chen Xuyuan, former CFA chairman, is also serving a life sentence for accepting $11 million in bribes.Of the 16 teams in the 2025 Chinese Super League, 11 will face point deductions and fines.Tianjin Jinmen Tiger and last season’s runners-up Shanghai Shenhua will each lose 10 points and pay a one million yuan ($144,000) fine when the 2026 season begins. Shanghai Port, champions for the past three seasons, and Beijing Guoan will each lose five points and pay a 400,000-yuan fine.