The 2003–2009 Chinese football match-fixing scandals were revealed by a large-scale 2009–2013 investigation of football

betting Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three ele ...

, bribery and

match-fixing In organized sports, match fixing (also known as game fixing, race fixing, throwing, rigging, hippodroming, or more generally sports fixing) is the act of playing or officiating a contest with the intention of achieving a predetermined result, v ...

(Sometimes also known as "" or ""). The scandals were first made public in October 2009. Instead of being led by

General Administration of Sport of China The General Administration of Sport () is the government agency responsible for sports in mainland China. It is subordinate to the State Council of the People's Republic of China. It also administers the All-China Sports Federation and Chinese O ...

Chinese Football Association The Chinese Football Association (), abbreviated as CFA (), is the governing body for association football, beach soccer and futsal in the People's Republic of China (Mainland China). The CFA organizes the men's and women's national teams an ...

like previous investigations, this investigation was led by the

Ministry of Public Security Ministry of Public Security can refer to: * Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Brazil) * Ministry of Public Security of Burundi * Ministry of Public Security (Chile) * Ministry of Public Security (China) * Ministry of Public Security of Co ...

. Xie Yalong, Nan Yong and Yang Yimin, who are all former vice presidents of Chinese Football Association, along with Zhang Jianqiang and some other CFA officials were arrested and removed from their posts.

Shanghai Shenhua Shanghai Shenhua Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club based in Shanghai, that competes in . Shanghai Shenhua plays its home matches at the Shanghai Stadium, located within Xuhui District. The owner of Shanghai Shenhua is ...

was stripped of their 2003 Chinese Jia-A League title. Lu Jun, the only Chinese referee in the history of

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

, and

China national football team The China national football team ( zh, s=中国国家足球队, t=中國國家足球隊, p=Zhōngguó guójiā zúqiú duì), recognised as China PR by FIFA, represents China in men's international association football and is governed by the Ch ...

players

Shen Si Shen Si () (born 1 May 1973 in Shanghai) is a former Chinese international footballer who played as a left midfielder where he gained a reputation for his technical and free kick skills, which saw him become a runner-up in the 2004 Free Kick Ma ...

, Jiang Jin,

Qi Hong Qi Hong (; born June 3, 1976, in Shanghai) is a former Chinese international footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or shadow striker throughout his career. At Shanghai Shenhua he won the league and Chinese FA Cup with them before ...

and Li Ming were arrested and sentenced to 5.5 years or 6 years in jail.

Background

In the aftermath of the 2001 Chinese football match-fixing scandal, referee Gong Jianping was jailed and died in the prison. Other team managers, referees and officials were not subject to any criminal prosecution. Shandong Luneng Taishan,

and Zhejiang Green Town were fined 800,000 RMB, Jiangsu Sainty and

Dalian Shide Dalian Shide was a professional Chinese football club based in Dalian, Liaoning province, China who played in China's football league system between 1955 and 2012. Their home stadiums were the 55,843 capacity Dalian People's Stadium and then lat ...

were fined 500,000 RMB,

Qingdao Etsong Hainiu Qingdao Hainiu Football Club () is a Chinese professional Association football, football club based in Qingdao, Shandong, that competes in . Qingdao Hainiu plays its home matches at the Qingdao Youth Football Stadium, located within Chengyang, Q ...

was fined 300,000 RMB. Their club managers were "seriously warned". In 2006, ''Liaoshen Evening News'' report match-fixing event to the

. Xie Yalong, Nan Yong and Yang Yimin replied "the CFA will carefully study the evidence and quickly request judicial intervention. Please report to us again next time."

Notable affected matches

Shanghai Shenhua vs Shanghai COSCO Sanlin in 2003

It was revealed in 2011 that the referee Lu Jun and CFA official Zhang Jianqiang received bribes totaling 700,000 yuan from

before this Shanghai derby match between the top two teams. In 2013, Shanghai Shenhua was stripped of its 2003 title. Lu Jun, once nicknamed "Golden Whistle" (金哨), was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison for fixing the results of the Shanghai derby and six other league matches.

Shanghai COSCO Sanlin vs Tianjin TEDA in 2003

The CFA stipulated that the result of "the 2002 Jia-A League rank * 0.5 + the 2003 Jia-A League rank" will be used to determine the teams participating the newly created Chinese Super League in 2004. In the final round of the 2003 Jia-A League,

Chongqing Lifan Chongqing Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the Central People's Government, along with Beijing, Shanghai ...

would have to lose to

and hope Shanghai COSCO Sanlin, a title hopeful, could beat (or tie with) Tianjin TEDA. In the match, Chongqing's supporters cheered for the guest team, Qingdao, and Chongqing Lifan successfully lost to Qingdao Etsong Hainiu 1–3. However, Shanghai COSCO Sanlin lost to Tianjin TEDA in a 1–2 blowout. Tianjin TEDA gained the last seat for the inaugural Chinese Super League and Chongqing Lifan was relegated (although Chongqing was eventually able to qualify for the 2004 CSL by merging with Yunnan Hongta). Shanghai International finished one point behind the champions

(in 2013, Shenhua were stripped of the title for bribing Lu Jun in the 9 November derby match). In 2012, it was found that in 2003, the then vice president of the Chinese Football Association, Nan Yong, did not want Chongqing Lifan to "lose and qualify" and make the CFA rules a laughing stock. With Nan Yong's help, Tianjin TEDA's club manager, Zhang Yifeng, was able to contact Shanghai International and

player

, who then contacted club and national teammates Jiang Jin,

and Li Ming. After Shanghai COSCO Sanlin lost to Tianjin TEDA, the four players received 8 million yuan in total. Shen Si was sentenced to six years in prison, the other three were sentenced to five years and six months in prison.

Guangzhou Pharmaceutical vs Shanxi Wosen Luhu in 2006

Guangzhou Pharmaceutical's team leader Yang Xu bribed Wang Pu, the general manager of Shanxi Wosen Luhu.

Guangzhou Pharmaceutical vs Zhejiang Green Town in 2006

With the help of the former CFA League Department official Fan Guangming, and retired

Shandong Luneng Shandong Taishan Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club based in Jinan, Shandong, that competes in . Shandong Taishan plays its home matches at the Jinan Olympic Sports Center Stadium, located within Lixia District. Their c ...

player Leng Bo and Xing Rui, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical bribed the players of Zhejiang Green Town, Shen Liuxi and Hu Minghua, with a total amount of 1.5 million yuan.

Qingdao Hailifeng vs Chengdu Blades in 2007

Chengdu Blades general manager Xu Hongtao and deputy general manager You Ke offered Qingdao Hailifeng with 300,000 yuan and free winter training for a month at Chengdu's base, in exchange with Chengdu's victory of the match.

"Chip Shot Gate" of Qingdao Hailifeng in 2009

In a 2009 match against the bottom-of-the-league Sichuan F.C., Qingdao Hailifeng were leading 3–0 with 20 minutes left. But having bet before the match that the total number of goals would be at least four, Qingdao Hailifeng's chairman, Du Yunqi, asked the team for another goal into either net. Due to Sichuan's defensive effort, Qingdao was unable to score another goal. In the last minutes, Qingdao players tried three

chip Chip may refer to: Food * Chip (snack), thinly sliced and deep-fried gastro item ** Potato chips (US) or crisp (UK) * Chips (fried potato strips) (UK) or french fries (US) (common as a takeout side) * Game chips, thin chip/French fries * Choco ...

shots into their own goal. However, due to the goalkeeper Mou Pengfei's two saves on his teammates' shots and with the third attempt going wide, the match ended 3–0. The match was known as "

Chip Chip may refer to: Food * Chip (snack), thinly sliced and deep-fried gastro item ** Potato chips (US) or crisp (UK) * Chips (fried potato strips) (UK) or french fries (US) (common as a takeout side) * Game chips, thin chip/French fries * Choco ...

Shot

Gate A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word is derived from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*gatan'', meaning an opening or passageway. Synonyms include yett (which comes from the same root w ...

(吊射门)" in China. In 2010, CFA revoked Qingdao Helifeng's league registration. In 2012, Du Yunqi was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Punishment

Clubs

On February 21, 2010, the CFA Disciplinary Committee made preliminary punishment decisions for clubs identified by the Ministry of Public Security Gambling Task Force as being involved in match-fixing cases. *

2009 Chinese Super League The 2009 Chinese Super League season was the sixth season since the establishment of the Chinese Super League, the sixteenth season of a professional football league and the 48th top-tier league season in China. Beijing Guoan won their first ever ...

teams Guangzhou Pharmaceutical and Chengdu Blades were relegated to

China League One The Chinese Football League 1 (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (), is the second level of professional football in China, under the Chinese Super League. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association ...

2009 China League One The 2009 China League One is the sixth season since the establishment. League kicked off on 28 March 2009 and is scheduled to end on 25 October 2009. Winners and runners-up promotes to Chinese Super League next season and the last placed team ...

team Qingdao Hailifengs league registration was revoked, the club was fined 200,000 RMB On February 18, 2013, the CFA Disciplinary Committee again announced its decision to punish the clubs involved in the match-fixing cases: *

was stripped of the 2003 Chinese Jia-A League champion title and deducted 6 points in the

2013 Chinese Super League The 2013 Chinese Super League was the tenth season since the establishment of the Chinese Super League, the 20th season of a professional football league and the 52nd top-tier league season in China. Guangzhou Evergrande won their third consecut ...

and fined 1 million RMB * Tianjin TEDA was deducted 6 points in the

and fined 1 million yuan * Yanbian Changbai Tiger was deducted 3 points in the

2013 China League One The 2013 China League One is the tenth season of the China League One, the second tier of the Chinese football league pyramid, since its establishment. Teams Team Changes To League One Teams relegated from 2012 Chinese Super League ...

and fined 500,000 RMB * Shandong Luneng Taishan was fined 1 million RMB *

Changchun Yatai Changchun Yatai Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club based in Changchun, Jilin, that competes in . Changchun Yatai plays its home matches at the Changchun Stadium, located within Nanguan District. The club's founder and main ...

, Jiangsu Sainty and

Henan Jianye Henan Football Club (), currently known as Henan F.C. Jiuzu Dukang () for sponsorship reasons, is a Chinese professional football club based in Zhengzhou, Henan, that competes in . Henan plays their home matches at the Hanghai Stadium, located wi ...

were fined 500,000 RMB

Individuals

In addition, punishment was imposed on the individuals involved:

Convicted individuals and clubs

CFA officials

Referees

Players and Coaches

Clubs and Staff

* 2001 Chinese football match-fixing scandal * 2003 Chinese Jia-A League * 1999 Chinese football match-fixing scandal

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2003-2009 Chinese football match-fixing scandals Sports scandals in China 2003 in Chinese football 2004 in Chinese football 2005 in Chinese football 2006 in Chinese football 2007 in Chinese football 2008 in Chinese football 2009 in Chinese football 2010 in Chinese football 2011 in Chinese football 2012 in Chinese football 2013 in Chinese football Chinese Jia-A League China League One Chinese Super League Match fixing in association football