The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has imposed lifetime bans on 38 soccer players and five club bosses accused of gambling and match-fixing. A two-year probe found that 120 matches were compromised.
In comments on Tuesday (10 September), Zhang Xiaopeng of the Chinese ministry for public security said the investigation “uncovered a series of online gambling, match-fixing and bribery cases”. They involved 128 suspects and 41 clubs.
Who’s involved?
Among those banned for life are midfielder Jin Jingdao, forward Guo Tianyu and goalkeeper Gu Chao, all of China. They can no longer take part in football or football-related activities. Seventeen others received five-year bans.
In a press conference on Wednesday, South Korea’s Son Jun-Ho protested his innocence. A tearful Son said he was “dumbfounded” by the “ridiculous charges”.
“They threatened that if I didn’t admit to the charges, my wife would be arrested,” he declared. “I said I hadn’t done anything like that.”
China targets spor..