The Chinese Football Federation (CFA) announced, this Thursday (21), a drastic measure against sports crimes in the country.
In a new wave of sanctions, the entity permanently banned 17 people from any activity related to sport due to their direct involvement in corruption, illicit betting and match manipulation.
The official decision, which also suspended another 48 professionals for a period of up to five years, seeks, above all, to clean up the image of national sport and guarantee the integrity of future competitions.
How punishments against match manipulation worked
According to information initially released by the Portuguese newspaper A Bola and confirmed by the Asian entity, the federation applied the sentences shortly after the country’s popular courts recognized and proved the criminal practices of those being investigated.
To reach this verdict, the federation’s Discipline and Ethics Committee carefully assessed the seriousness of each infraction committed.
In this way, the experts analyzed the financial amounts transferred in the scheme, the frequency of illicit acts and the intention of the accused before defining the weight of the penalties.
The entity chose not to publish the complete list with the names of all those punished, but reinforced its firm commitment to the zero tolerance policy to “purify” the sporting environment once and for all.
Meizhou Hakka club also suffers harsh sanctions in the league
The anti-corruption operation also punished Meizhou Hakka, a team that competes in the country’s professional league.
The club was penalized after new evidence was discovered during legal investigations.
As a consequence of serious disciplinary violations, the team will start the 2026 season with a deduction of six points from the league table.
In addition to the sporting blow, the team will also need to pay a heavy fine of 800,000 yuan, an amount that is equivalent to around R$610,000 at the current price.
Finally, the CFA reiterated that it will continue to expand its permanent inspection mechanisms, with the aim of combating any fraudulent scheme head-on, intensifying the hunt for corrupt managers, referees, coaches and athletes who continue to operate in the country.
