73 Individuals Slapped With Lifetime Bans, 13 Clubs Sanctioned! China FA Dishes Out Punishment For Match-Fixing Scandal

Last Updated:January 29, 2026, 15:37 IST

Under President Xi Jinping, an anti-corruption campaign has targeted Chinese football in recent years, revealing extensive corruption within the professional game.

Chinese Football Association. (X)

China’s football association has imposed lifetime bans on 73 individuals, including former national team head coach Li Tie, and sanctioned 13 top professional clubs for match-fixing and corruption, it announced on Thursday.

Under President Xi Jinping, an anti-corruption campaign has targeted Chinese football in recent years, revealing extensive corruption within the professional game.

Several high-ranking officials in the Chinese Football Association (CFA) have been ousted, and numerous players have been banned for match-fixing and gambling.

Thursday’s statement did not detail the timing or mechanics of the most recent match-fixing incidents. The sanctions followed a “systematic review" and were necessary “to enforce industry discipline, purify the football environment, and maintain fair competition", the CFA stated on its official social media account.

Li, a former Everton player who led the national team from 2019 to 2021, is already serving a 20-year prison sentence for bribery, handed down in December 2024. He is now permanently banned from all football activities, alongside 72 others, according to the CFA statement.

Among those banned is Chen Xuyuan, former chairman of the CFA, who is serving a life sentence for accepting $11 million in bribes.

The football clubs facing punishment are also prominent. Out of the 16 clubs that participated in the 2025 season of the top Chinese Super League (CSL), 11 will have points deducted and be fined.

Following relegations, nine teams will start the 2026 CSL season in March with negative point totals. Tianjin Jinmen Tiger and last season’s runners-up Shanghai Shenhua will face the harshest penalties, with 10-point deductions and fines of one million yuan ($144,000).

Shanghai Port, champions for the past three seasons, will face a five-point deduction and a 400,000-yuan fine, the same punishment given to Beijing Guoan.

The CFA did not specify the clubs’ infractions, stating only that they involved “match-fixing, gambling, and bribery", with penalties based on “the amount, circumstances, nature, and social impact of the improper transactions involved".

“We will always maintain a zero-tolerance deterrent and high-pressure punitive force, and investigate and address any violations of discipline or regulations in football as soon as they are discovered, without any leniency or tolerance," the CFA declared.

Many of China’s professional teams are already facing financial difficulties. Guangzhou FC, the most successful club in CSL history, folded in 2025 after failing to settle its debts in time for the new season.

President Xi, a football enthusiast, has expressed his dream of China hosting and winning the World Cup someday. China did not qualify for the World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States this summer.

(With Inputs From Agencies)

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