China issues lifetime bans to 38 players and five club officials for match-fixing

The Chinese Football Federation has banned 38 soccer players and five club officials for life after a two-year investigation into match-fixing and gambling.

According to the official Xinhua News Agency, Zhang Xiaopeng, a senior official from the Ministry of Public Security, told a press conference in Dalian that the investigation found that 120 matches had been fixed, with 41 football clubs involved.

It was not clear whether all the matches concerned took place in China but three former Chinese internationals Jin Jingdao, Guo Tianyu and Gu Chao and South Korean player Son Jun-ho, who played for Shandong Taishan FC, were among those banned for life, according to findings made public at a press conference at which the CFA president Song Kai was present.

None of the players have made any public comment. Son was released in March after being detained for 10 months in China and returned to South Korea.

Zhang said 44 individuals faced criminal penalties for bribery, gambling, and the illegal opening of casinos, while 17 others were found to have engaged in bribery and match-fixing.

CFA President Song Kai said 43 of the 44 had been banned for life from football-related activities, and 17 others received five-year bans.

In August, a former vice president of the national football association was sentenced to 11 years in prison for accepting bribes, and a former director of the competition department was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for the same offence.

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