Li Tie incident last year has been more than half a year, the Football Association senior Chen Xuyuan, Du Zhaocai and others seem to have faded from the public eye, the domestic soccer "anti-corruption crackdown" seems to be quiet for the time being. However, this does not mean that the CFA and its three professional leagues have no hidden worries. In fact, the current revelations about the league's clubs are just the tip of the iceberg. As time progresses, more dark secrets are expected to surface. Recently, Chinese Super League newcomer Nantong Zhiyun FC released the latest developments of the team's investigated players' cases through the internet.
The Nantong Zhiyun Club not only publicized the team's plight, but also exposed former veteran Zhu Yifan's gambling, match-fixing and other wrongdoings, pointing the finger directly at the CFA. The club accused the CFA Arbitration Committee of inaction, which led to the passage of Zhu Yifan's illegal yin-yang contract, resulting in the club's loss of up to 2.5 million yuan in "player placement fees".
In the announcement, Nantong Zhiyun only briefly explains the situation that two players were disqualified from registering in the Chinese Super League for "cooperating with the investigation", and the details related to Zhu Yifan's yin-yang contract dominate.
Nantong Zhiyun revealed that Zhu Yifan was suspected of match-fixing during the 2019 season when he represented the team in the First Division League by frequently engaging in gambling, ignoring the club's ban, and bringing his cell phone into the locker room privately. In addition, Zhu Yifan's training attitude was negative and his private life was chaotic. For these reasons, the club decided to delegate the reserve team to Zhu Yifan and deduct his salary and bonus.
Zhu Yifan then terminated his contract with Nantong Zhiyun and signed an illegal yin-yang contract with the former general manager of the club, suing Nantong Zhiyun to the FA. The Arbitration Committee of the Association held that the clause on "settlement fee" in the contract had nothing to do with the soccer industry, and that this omission made Zhu Yifan's illegal contract valid.
Zhu Yifan used the FA's judgment to sue Nantong Zhiyun in civil court, which finally ruled that Nantong Zhiyun should pay Zhu Yifan 2.5 million yuan "settlement fee". Although Nantong Zhiyun's announcement mentioned Zhu Yifan's involvement in gambling and match-fixing, and it is difficult to define whether or not the FA's inaction is a full disclosure, Nantong Zhiyun's club has decisively exposed the internal scandal, and expressed its determination to fight with Zhu Yifan and the FA to the end.
Although 2.5 million dollars is not a huge sum for a Chinese Super League club, Nantong Zhiyun has made great efforts to maintain the dignity and interests of the club and ensure that similar incidents do not occur in the future. It remains to be seen whether other clubs will follow Nantong Zhiyun's example and expose their family's shame and confront the FA head-on in the future.
It is worth mentioning that Zhu Yifan came from Beijing Guoan's youth training system and played for Guoan for six seasons, being the team's main midfielder. However, due to his private life problems, he had a one-night stand with a female fan and was abandoned by the club after his contract expired. Therefore, it is not surprising that Nantong Zhiyun revealed his fake football and gambling behavior.
