The Nantong Zhiyun club disclosed to the public three legal disputes related to itself, a chain of events that instantly triggered a hot debate on the Internet, a rarity in the Chinese soccer world. One of the cases involved former player Zhu Yifan, and Nantong Zhiyun ended up being the victim. Staggeringly, the relevant authorities approved the terms of a forged contract between Zhu Yifan and the former senior management of Nantong Zhiyun, forcing Nantong Zhiyun to pay up to 2.5 million yuan in compensation. What is even more shocking is that Nantong Branch Cloud revealed the secret of Zhu Yifan's addiction to casinos.
Nantong Zhiyun officials revealed that during the 2019 China First Division League, player Zhu Yifan was suspected of kicking a fake soccer ball after he defied his head coach's explicit ban and repeatedly bet and gambled on club matches, even bringing his cell phone into the locker room. Zhu Yifan demanded to terminate his contract on the grounds of salary arrears, and the two sides therefore took the case to court, where Zhu Yifan eventually won the case. Zhu Yifan, who played for Guoan, also had a brief stay in Yatai and Henan, and after leaving Nantong Zhiyun, he switched to Jinan Xingzhou. In April of this year, the 35-year-old Zhu Yifan joined championship team Chongqing Dikei, and his career seems to be nearing its end. Nantong Zhiyun pointed out that Zhu Yifan was suspected of gambling in 2019, and whether he will bring his gambling habit to his new team has become a suspenseful question that urgently needs to be investigated by the authorities.
Thankfully, the anti-gambling and anti-triad operations are still in progress, with the Chinese Super League already launching an investigation into the Chinese First Division, and the Chinese Second Division teams may also be affected. Nantong Zhiyun revealed that Zhu Yifan had been involved in gambling, so I hope that the relevant departments can follow this clue to trace the root of the problem and catch the gamblers, and never let them get away with it.
From 2010 to 2019, Chinese soccer experienced the peak of the golden dollar era. Ball players and officials of the Football Association (FA) made a lot of money. Nearly 20 officials have been arrested in the FA system so far. Then look at the players, who have to accept high salaries from investors to participate in gambling. Do they really deserve the trust of fans and investors? From FA officials to club members, Chinese soccer is almost mired in corruption and gambling.
It is the presence of these corrupt elements that has caused Chinese soccer to be reduced to third-rate in Asia, where we are not guaranteed victory against countries such as Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines. Where is the future of Chinese soccer? The key lies in whether or not Chinese soccer can be reinvented after the anti-corruption and anti-triad operations, and whether or not we can fundamentally solve the problem of gambling on soccer matches and the corruption of officials in the Football Association. This is the most crucial issue, otherwise we will be stuck in a constant cycle of hardship.
