Three former Chinese internationals and South Korean World Cup player Son Jun-ho faced sanctions on Tuesday. At least ten top officials from the Chinese Football Association (CFA) have already been implicated in corruption investigations.
President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China has been spearheading an extensive anti-corruption campaign in the nation’s scandal-plagued sports sector, with a particular focus on football.
Xi, a well-known football enthusiast, aims to elevate Chinese football on the global stage and has aspirations for China to host a World Cup. However, his goals have been hindered by subpar performances and continuous scandals within the sport.
Among those brought down by corruption probes are at least ten high-ranking CFA officials, including former chairman Chen Xuyuan, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in March.
Earlier this year, Gou Zhongwen, who served as Director of the General Administration of Sport of China from 2016 to 2022, was also accused of corruption, bringing the total number of banned individuals to 43.
A two-year probe into illegal gambling and match-fixing in the domestic game implicated 128 people. Yuesday’s ban comes only days after the Chinese men’s national football team suffered a humiliating 7-0 defeat to rivals Japan in their 2026 World Cup qualification match and just hours before another qualifier against Saudi Arabia.
Son Jun-ho, who played four games for South Korea in the recent 2022 World Cup in Qatar, is the highest-profile player to be banned. The 32-year-old midfielder played for Shandong Taishan in the Chinese Super League and was detained in China for nearly a year “on suspicion of accepting bribes by non-state employees.”
A representative has reportedly said that Son and his party are “bewildered” by the allegations and will address them soon. The midfielder now plays in South Korea’s top domestic league.
Jin Jingdao, Guo Tianyu, and Gu Chao are the three Chinese internationals who received lifetime bans.
