# 2003–2009 Chinese football match-fixing scandals

The 2003–2009 Chinese football match-fixing scandals were revealed by a large-scale 2009–2013 investigation of football betting, bribery and match-fixing (Chinese: 中国足坛反赌风暴; lit. 'Chinese football anti-betting storm'). The scandals were first made public in October 2009. Instead of being led by General Administration of Sport of China or Chinese Football Association like previous investigations, this investigation was led by the Ministry of Public Security. 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 was stripped of their 2003 Chinese Jia-A League title. Lu Jun, the only Chinese referee in the history of FIFA World Cup, and China national football team players Shen Si, Jiang Jin, Qi Hong 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, Shanghai Shenhua and Zhejiang Green Town were fined 800,000 RMB, Jiangsu Sainty and Dalian Shide were fined 500,000 RMB, Qingdao Etsong Hainiu was fined 300,000 RMB. Their club managers were "seriously warned".
In 2006, Liaoshen Evening News report match-fixing event to the Chinese Football Association. 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 Shanghai Shenhua 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 would have to lose to Qingdao Etsong Hainiu 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 Shanghai Shenhua (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 China national football team player Shen Si, who then contacted club and national teammates Jiang Jin, Qi Hong 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 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 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 Shot Gate (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 teams Guangzhou Pharmaceutical and Chengdu Blades were relegated to China League One
* 2009 China League One team Qingdao Hailifeng's 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:
* Shanghai Shenhua was stripped of the 2003 Chinese Jia-A League champion title and deducted 6 points in the 2013 Chinese Super League and fined 1 million RMB
* Tianjin TEDA was deducted 6 points in the 2013 Chinese Super League and fined 1 million yuan
* Yanbian Changbai Tiger was deducted 3 points in the 2013 China League One and fined 500,000 RMB
* Shandong Luneng Taishan was fined 1 million RMB
* Changchun Yatai, Jiangsu Sainty and Henan Jianye were fined 500,000 RMB

### Individuals

In addition, punishment was imposed on the individuals involved:
| Name | Organization / Team / Company | Position | Banned from football-related activities for |
| Yang Yimin (杨一民) | Chinese Football Sport Management Center, Chinese Football Association | Vice Director, Full-time Vice President | Lifetime |
| Zhang Jianqiang (张建强) | Chinese Football Sport Management Center, Chinese Football Association | Director of the Referee Committee | Lifetime |
| Nan Yong (南勇) | Chinese Football Sport Management Center, Chinese Football Association | Director, CCP Secretary, Full-time Vice President | Lifetime |
| Xie Yalong (谢亚龙) | Chinese Football Sport Management Center, Chinese Football Association | Director, CCP Deputy Secretary, Full-time Vice President | Lifetime |
| Wei Shaohui (蔚少辉) | Chinese Football Sport Management Center, Chinese Football Association | China national football team Leader | Lifetime |
| Li Dongsheng (李冬生) | Chinese Football Sport Management Center, Chinese Football Association | Director of Technical Department | Lifetime |
| Fan Guangming (范广鸣) | Chinese Football Sport Management Center, Chinese Football Association | Business officer in charge | Lifetime |
| Lü Feng (吕锋) | Chinese Super League Co., Ltd. | General Manager | Lifetime |
| Yang Feng (杨峰) | Chinese Super League Co., Ltd. | Deputy Director of Business | 5 years |
| Zhang Zujian (张祖建) | Chinese Super League Co., Ltd. | Staff | 5 years |
| Huang Junjie (黄俊杰) | Shanghai Football Association | Referee | Lifetime |
| Lu Jun | Beijing Sport University | Referee | Lifetime |
| Zhou Weixin (周伟新) | None | Referee | Lifetime |
| Wan Daxue (万大雪) | Zhuozhou Amateur Sports School | Referee | Lifetime |
| Jian Gao (高健) | Chongqing Football Association | Secretary General | 5 years |
| Shen Si | Shanghai COSCO Sanlin | Player | Lifetime |
| Qi Hong | Shanghai COSCO Sanlin | Player | Lifetime |
| Jiang Jin | Shanghai COSCO Sanlin | Player | Lifetime |
| Li Ming | Shanghai COSCO Sanlin | Player | Lifetime |
| Lou Shifang (楼世芳) | Shanghai Shenhua | General Manager | 5 years |
| Sui Jianhua (眭建华) | Shanghai Shenhua | Vice General Manager | 5 years |
| Zhang Yifeng (张义锋) | Tianjin TEDA | General Manager | 5 years |
| Wang Pu (王珀) | Shanxi Wosen Luhu | General Manager | Lifetime |
| Ding Zhe (丁哲) | Shanxi Wosen Luhu | Assistant coach | 5 years |
| Du Yunqi (杜允琪) | Qingdao Hailifeng | President | Lifetime |
| Zuo Wenqing (左文清) | Qingdao Hailifeng | Head coach | Lifetime |
| Wang Shouye (王守业) | Qingdao Hailifeng | General Manager | Lifetime |
| Du Bin (杜斌) | Qingdao Hailifeng | Player | Lifetime |
| Liang Ming (梁明) | Qingdao Hailifeng | Player | Lifetime |
| Liu Hongwei (刘红伟) | Qingdao Hailifeng | Team Leader | 5 years |
| Shen Liuxi (沈刘曦) | Zhejiang Green Town | Player | Lifetime |
| Hu Minghua (胡明华) | Zhejiang Green Town | Player | Lifetime |
| Gao Hui (高珲) | Yanbian Changbai Tiger | Head coach | Lifetime |
| Kim Kwang-soo (金光洙) | Yanbian Changbai Tiger | Assistant coach | Lifetime |
| Leng Bo (冷波) | Qingdao Etsong Hainiu | Assistant coach | Lifetime |
| Wu Xiaodong (吴晓东) | Guangzhou Pharmaceutical | Vice General Manager | Lifetime |
| Yang Xu (杨旭) | Guangzhou Pharmaceutical | Team Leader | Lifetime |
| Xie Bin (谢彬) | Guangzhou Pharmaceutical | Vice Chairman | 5 years |
| Chen Zhinong (陈志农) | Guangzhou Pharmaceutical | Vice Chairman | 5 years |
| Xu Hongtao (许宏涛) | Chengdu Blades | General Manager | 5 years |
| You Kewei (尤可为) | Chengdu Blades | Team Leader | 5 years |
| Gao Feng (高峰) | Wuxi Zobon | Player | Lifetime |
| Li Dan (李丹) | Wuxi Zobon | Player | Lifetime |
| Chen Qi (陈琦) | Wuxi Zobon | Player | 5 years |
| Tan Xu (谭旭) | Wuxi Zobon | Player | 5 years |
| Chen Liang (陈亮) | Wuxi Zobon | Player | 5 years |
| Sun Xiaobun (孙晓鹍) | Wuxi Zobon | Player | 5 years |
| Yao Youming (姚幼明) | Wuxi Zobon | Player | 5 years |
| Zhang Yang (张扬) | Wuxi Zobon | Player | 5 years |
| Li Zhimin (李志民) | Shaanxi National Power | Chairman | Lifetime |
| Chen Hong (陈宏) | Chongqing Lifan | General Manager | 5 years |
| Wang Xuezhi (王学智) | Guangzhou Matsunichi | General Manager, Former International Referee | 5 years |
| Mu Jun (慕军) | Guangzhou Matsunichi | Player | 5 years |
| Xu Hong | Sichuan First City | Head coach | 5 years |
| Zhang Jian (章健) | Shenyang Sealion | General Manager | 5 years |
| Xu Xiaomin (许晓敏) | Shenyang Sealion | Team Leader | 5 years |
| Guo Feng (郭峰) | Beijing AOLINSP Economic and Trade Development Co. | Football Agent | 5 years |

## Convicted individuals and clubs
### CFA officials

| Name | Organization / Team / Company | Position | Date of arrest (by the procuratorate) | Charge | First trial verdict |
| Xie Yalong (谢亚龙) | Chinese Football Sport Management Center, Chinese Football Association | Director, CCP Deputy Secretary, Full-time Vice President | 5 October 2010 (2010-10-05) | Alleged bribe-taking, Dereliction of duty | 10.5 years in prison, Confiscation of all personal property |
| Nan Yong (南勇) | Chinese Football Sport Management Center, Chinese Football Association | Director, CCP Secretary, Full-time Vice President | 27 January 2010 (2010-01-27) | Alleged bribe-taking, Dereliction of duty | 10.5 years in prison, Confiscation of 200,000 yuan in property |
| Yang Yimin (杨一民) | Chinese Football Sport Management Center, Chinese Football Association | Vice Director, Full-time Vice President | 27 January 2010 (2010-01-27) | Bribe-taking | 10.5 years in prison, Confiscation of 200,000 yuan in property |
| Zhang Jianqiang (张建强) | Chinese Football Sport Management Center, Chinese Football Association | Director of the Referee Committee | 27 January 2010 (2010-01-27) | Bribe-taking | 12 years in prison, Confiscation of 250,000 yuan in property |
| Wei Shaohui (蔚少辉) | Chinese Football Sport Management Center, Chinese Football Association | China national football team Leader | 5 October 2010 (2010-10-05) | Alleged bribe-taking | 10.5 years in prison, Confiscation of 200,000 yuan in property |
| Li Dongsheng (李冬生) | Chinese Football Sport Management Center, Chinese Football Association | Director of Technical Department | 5 October 2010 (2010-10-05) | Alleged bribe-taking | 9 years in prison, Fines of 100,000 yuan |
| Fan Guangming (范广鸣) | Chinese Football Sport Management Center, Chinese Football Association | Business Officer in charge | 6 November 2009 (2009-11-06) | Bribe-giving to non-state employee | 3.5 years in prison, Fines of 150,000 yuan |
| Lü Feng (吕锋) | Chinese Super League Co., Ltd. | General Manager | | Bribe-giving, Non-state employee bribe-taking | 6.5 years in prison, Confiscation of 150,000 yuan in property |
| Yang Xu (杨旭) | Guangzhou Pharmaceutical, Guangzhou Football Association Officials | Team Leader | | | 3 years in prison, Confiscation of all illegal income |
| Lin Weiguo (林卫国) | Chinese Football Association | Head of Youth Department | November 2020 (2020-11) | Alleged bribe-taking | |

### Referees

| Name | Charge | First trial verdict | Note |
| Lu Jun | Non-state employee bribe-taking | 5.5 years in prison, Confiscation of 100,000 yuan in property | Chinese Jia-A League Referee of the Decade, two-time Asian Football Confederation Referee of the Year, the only Chinese referee that has supervised FIFA World Cup match |
| Huang Junjie (黄俊杰) | Non-state employee bribe-taking | 7 years in prison, Confiscation of 200,000 yuan in property | |
| Zhou Weixin (周伟新) | Non-state employee bribe-taking, Bribe-giving to non-state employee | 3.5 years in prison | |
| Wan Daxue (万大雪) | Non-state employee bribe-taking | 6 years in prison, Confiscation of 150,000 yuan in property | |

### Players and Coaches

| Name | Organization / Team / Company | Position | First trial verdict | Note |
| Yan Yi (阎毅) | Wuhan Optics Valley | Goalkeeper | | Former China national under-23 football team player |
| Ding Zhe (丁哲) | Shenyang Sealion | Assistant coach | Unknown | |
| Li Xuebai (李雪柏) | Shanxi Wosen Luhu | Player | | |
| Lü Dong (吕东) | Liaoning F.C. | Player | 3 years in prison, Fines of 1500,000 yuan | |
| Leng Bo (冷波) | Qingdao Jonoon | Assistant coach | 3 years in prison, Confiscation of all illegal income | |
| Xing Rui (邢锐) | Shandong Luneng Taishan | Former Captain | 3 years in prison, Confiscation of all illegal income | |
| Hu Minghua (胡明华) | Zhejiang Green Town | Former Player | 3 years in prison, Confiscation of all illegal income | |
| Shen Liuxi (沈刘曦) | Zhejiang Green Town | Former Player | 5 years in prison, Confiscation of all illegal income | |
| Zuo Wenqing (左文清) | Qingdao Hailifeng | Head coach | 5 years in prison, Confiscation of all illegal income | |
| Gao Hui (高珲) | Yanbian Changbai Tiger | Former Head Coach | 3 years in prison, Confiscation of all illegal income | |
| Kim Kwang-soo (金光洙) | Yanbian Changbai Tiger | Former Assistant Coach | 2 years in prison, Confiscation of all illegal income | |
| Shen Si | Shanghai COSCO Sanlin | Player | 6 years in prison, Confiscation of all illegal income | China national football team player |
| Jiang Jin | Shanghai COSCO Sanlin | Player | 5.5 years in prison, Confiscation of all illegal income | China national football team player |
| Qi Hong | Shanghai COSCO Sanlin | Player | 5.5 years in prison, Confiscation of all illegal income | China national football team player |
| Li Ming | Shanghai COSCO Sanlin | Player | 5.5 years in prison, Confiscation of all illegal income | China national football team player |

### Clubs and Staff

| Name | Organization / Team / Company | Position | Charge | First trial verdict | Note |
| Wang Pu (王珀) | Shaanxi National Power, Shanxi Wosen Luhu | General Manager | Non-state employee bribe-taking, Fraud | 8 years in prison, Fines of 230,000 yuan | |
| Li Zhimin (李志民) | Shaanxi National Power | Chairman | Non-state employee bribe-taking | 5 years in prison, Confiscation of 250,000 yuan in property | |
| Wang Xin (王鑫) | Liaoning F.C. | Team Leader and General Manager | Bribe-giving to non-state employee, Opening a casino | 7 years in prison, Fines of 3300,000 yuan | |
| Du Yunqi (杜允琪) | Qingdao Hailifeng | President | Bribe-giving by non-state employee, Non-state employee bribe-taking, Illegal detention | 7 years in prison, Confiscation of 100,000 yuan in property | |
| Wang Shouye (王守业) | Qingdao Hailifeng | General Manager | | 5 years in prison, Confiscation of all illegal income | |
| Liu Hongwei (刘红伟) | Qingdao Hailifeng | Team Leader | Non-state employee bribe-taking | 1 year in prison, 1 year of probation, Released by the court | Former China national football team player |
| You Kewei (尤可为) | Chengdu Blades | Team Leader and Vice General Manager | Bribe-giving to non-state employee | 1 year in prison, 1 year of probation, Fines of 600,000 yuan, Released by the court | |
| Xu Hongtao (许宏涛) | Chengdu Blades | General Manager | Bribe-giving to non-state employee | 1 year in prison, 1 year of probation, Released by the court | |
| Chen Zhinong (陈志农) | Guangzhou Pharmaceutical | Vice General Manager | | 2 years in prison, 3 years of probation, Confiscation of all illegal income | |
| Wu Xiaodong (吴晓东) | Guangzhou Pharmaceutical | Vice General Manager | | 3 years in prison, Confiscation of all illegal income | |
| Xie Bin (谢彬) | Guangzhou Pharmaceutical | High Level Official | | 2 years in prison, 3 years of probation, Confiscation of all illegal income | |
| Zhong Guojian (钟国建) | Guangdong Xiongying | General Manager | | | |
| He Bing (何兵) | Shenyang Sealion | General Manager | | | |
| Yang Wei (杨巍) | | Football Agent | | | |
| Zhang Yifeng (张义锋) | Tianjin TEDA | General Manager | | | |
| Yu Zhifei (郁知非) | Shanghai Shenhua | General Manager | | 4 years in prison, Fines of 300,000 yuan | |
| Lou Shifang (楼世芳) | Shanghai Shenhua | General Manager | | | |
| Chengdu Blades | | | Bribe-giving to non-state employee | Fines of 600,000 yuan | |
| Qingdao Hailifeng | | | Bribe-giving to non-state employee | Fines of 2000,000 yuan | |
| Shandong Luneng Taishan | | | Bribe-giving to non-state employee | Fines of 1000,000 yuan | |
| Shanghai Shenhua | | | Bribe-giving to non-state employee | Fines of 1000,000 yuan | |
| Tianjin TEDA | | | Bribe-giving to non-state employee | Fines of 1000,000 yuan | |
| Yanbian Changbai Tiger | | | Bribe-giving to non-state employee | Fines of 500,000 yuan | |
| Changchun Yatai | | | Bribe-giving to non-state employee | Fines of 500,000 yuan | |
| Jiangsu Sainty | | | Bribe-giving to non-state employee | Fines of 500,000 yuan | |
| Henan Jianye | | | Bribe-giving to non-state employee | Fines of 500,000 yuan | |