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 is the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. There are many reasons why match fixing might take place, ...

(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 ...

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

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 Shanghai Shenhua F.C. () is a Chinese professional football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The term ''shen hua'' literally translates as "the Flower of Shanghai" i ...

was stripped of their

2003 Chinese Jia-A League The 2003 Chinese Jia-A League season is the tenth season of professional association football and the 42nd top-tier overall league season in China. The league started on March 15 and ended on November 30, 2003, while in preparation for the rebrande ...

title. Lu Jun, the only Chinese referee in the history of

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the ' (FIFA), the ...

, and

China national football team The China national football team (, recognised as China PR by FIFA) represents the People's Republic of China in international association football and is governed by the Chinese Football Association. China won the EAFF East Asian Cup in 2 ...

players

Shen Si Shen Si () (born 1 May 1973 in Shanghai) is a former Chinese people, Chinese international Association football, footballer who played as a left midfielder where he gained a reputation for his technical and free kick skills, which saw him become ...

, 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 The 2001 China Jia B League Match Fixing, also called the Five Jia B Rats incident (甲B五鼠事件) in China, was a series of match fixing that involved five football teams – Chengdu F.C., Jiangsu Sainty, Changchun Yatai, Zhejiang Green Town a ...

, referee

Gong Jianping Gong Jianping (; ; July 12, 1960 - July 11, 2004) was a FIFA-ranked international football referee from Beijing, China. As a chief referee for the Chinese Football Association, he was the only referee charged for corruption in the 2001 match f ...

was jailed and died in the prison. Other team managers, referees and officials were not subject to any criminal prosecution.

Shandong Luneng Taishan Shandong Taishan Football Club () is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Jinan, Shandong and their home stadium is ...

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 l ...

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

. 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 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

(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 Chinese national football team player

, 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 Hohhot Black Horse (呼和浩特黑马) is a defunct Chinese football club based in Hohhot, China and were based at the Hohhot People's Stadium. Founded as Beijing Zangying Xuequan, a team based in Beijing but dedicated to unearthing and develop ...

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 professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Jinan, Shandong and their home stadium is ...

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. Sichuan Football Club (Simplified Chinese: 四川足球俱乐部) was a professional Chinese football club under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. History After Chinese Super L ...

, 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 Mou Pengfei (Chinese: 牟鹏飞; pinyin: ''Móu Péngfēi; ''born 28 February 1989 in Qingdao) is a Chinese footballer who currently plays for Shenyang Urban in the China League One. Club career Mou joined Qingdao Hailifeng's youth academy when ...

'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 A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word derived from old Norse "gat" meaning road or path; But other terms include '' yett and port''. The concept originally referred to the gap or hole in the wal ...

(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 ev ...

teams Guangzhou Pharmaceutical and Chengdu Blades were relegated to

China League One The Chinese Football Association China League (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (中甲联赛), is the second level of professional football in China. Above League One is the Chinese Super League. Prior to the formation of ...

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 wa ...

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

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 consec ...

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

and fined 1 million yuan *

Yanbian Changbai Tiger Yanbian Funde F.C. () was a Chinese football club. The team was based in Yanji, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin province where their home stadium is the Yanji Nationwide Fitness Centre Stadium that has a seating capacity of 30,000. ...

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 *

was fined 1 million RMB *

Changchun Yatai Changchun Yatai Football Club () is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Changchun, Jilin and their home sta ...

, Jiangsu Sainty and

Henan Jianye Henan Songshan Longmen Football Club (), previously known as Henan Jianye Football Club (), is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The tea ...

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

* 1999 Chinese football match-fixing scandal

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2003-2009 Chinese football match-fixing scandals Association football controversies 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