Former Chinese National Men’s Football Team Coach Li Tie Prosecuted for Bribery Charges
Li Tie, the former coach of the Chinese National Men’s Football Team, is facing prosecution for multiple charges, including accepting bribes and offering bribes. The announcement was made by the People’s Procuratorate of Hubei Province in China. It is part of an aggressive investigation by Chinese authorities into allegations of match-fixing in the men’s soccer team.
Li Tie is the first high-level individual to be investigated and prosecuted in connection with the match-fixing case. Chinese websites have taken measures to ban mirror sites, urging users to access the genuine version to view content.
According to the Hubei Provincial People’s Procuratorate, Li Tie is being prosecuted for alleged cases of bribery, unit bribery, non-state staff bribery, and non-state staff bribery. The investigation into these charges was conducted by the Chibi City Supervisory Committee and the Chibi City Public Security Bureau in Hubei Province. The case has now been transferred to the Xianning City People’s Procuratorate for examination and prosecution.
The Xianning Municipal People’s Procuratorate, designated by the Hubei Provincial People’s Procuratorate, will handle the case and has filed a public prosecution with the Xianning Intermediate People’s Court.
This development comes after Li Tie’s initial investigation and dismissal in November 2022 for suspected serious violations of the law. This sparked an anti-corruption storm within the Chinese Football Association. Since then, 13 high-level officials, including Li Tie, have been investigated.
The list of officials includes Liu Yi, former secretary-general of the Chinese Football Association; Chen Xuyuan, chairman of the Football Association; Wang Xiaoping, director of the Disciplinary Committee; Huang Song, director of the Competition Department; Yu Hongchen, former vice chairman; Dong Zheng, former general manager of the Chinese Super League; Li Yuyi, vice chairman; Ma Chengquan, former chairman of the Chinese Super League; Tan Hai, director of the technical department; and Qi Jun, director of the strategic planning department.
In addition to the officials, several professional players and referees suspected of match-fixing and involvement in illegal activities have been taken into custody for investigation.
Li Tie, born in Shenyang, Liaoning in May 1977, had a notable career in football, representing the national football team during the 2002 World Cup and playing for Everton in the Premier League.
After retiring as a player, Li Tie ventured into coaching and held various positions, including assistant coach of Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Club, assistant coach of the China National Men’s Football Team, head coach of China Fortune Club, head coach of Wuhan Zall Club, and head coach of the National Men’s Football Selection Team.
Li Tie took over as the coach of the Chinese national men’s football team at the beginning of 2020. However, due to a poor record and ongoing controversies, he resigned on December 3, 2021, as announced by the Chinese Football Association.
Following the recent news of Li Tie’s prosecution on five crimes, discussions have been sparked among mainland netizens on platforms like Weibo. The majority of people believe that the match-fixing case is becoming clearer, and they anticipate that many of the high-level executives who were subsequently dismissed will also face prosecution.
It is evident that this case has garnered significant attention, and the investigation into corruption within the Chinese Football Association is ongoing.
Editor in charge: Yifan
Source: Central News Agency
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