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In the blink of an eye, the anti-corruption storm in Chinese soccer has swept through for five months. Since the former national soccer coach Li Tie, a number of heavyweights have surfaced one after another. FA executive committee member Liu Yi, former secretary-general Chen Yongliang, chairman Chen Xuyuan, disciplinary committee director Wang Xiaoping, competition department director Huang Song, former vice-chairman Yu Hongchen, and former general manager of the Chinese Super League Dong Zheng have all been subjected to monitoring and investigation. The storm reached its peak until Du Zhao was taken away.
Surprisingly, refereeing positions in the Premier League seem to be safe and sound. Despite rumors at the end of March that referees may have been taken away from a training session of more than 200 people, the refereeing world is unperturbed half a month later. Well-known referees such as Ma Ning and Fu Ming are still active on the field, and Ma Ning was even fined for blowing a penalty in the first match of the Chinese Super League. Just before the start of the Chinese Super League, a national-level referee who had been absconding for three years was caught in Chengdu. Ironically, the referee was still wearing his national team uniform and jacket when he was arrested.
Chengdu police arrested Liu, a suspect absconding from Thailand, on April 3, Red Star News reported. Liu worked as a referee for the Shaanxi Football Association and is a national-level referee.In 2019, Liu met the victim, Wei, through a company partnership and forged a power of attorney and official seal to make an illegal profit. When Wei realized he could not contact Liu, he immediately called the police, and Liu had fled to Thailand. Liu lived a lavish life in Thailand, married and had children, and used his illegal proceeds to gamble. It was gambling that led him to his criminal path.
Although Liu is not directly related to China's soccer anti-corruption, as a practitioner, his case is a wake-up call for Chinese soccer practitioners. In this storm, many international players were suspected of gambling or match-fixing, such as Jin Jingdao and Zhang Lu. Wu Xinghan and Dai Lin have also been involved in similar storms. These incidents have caused serious damage to the image of Chinese soccer. The relevant authorities are resolute and determined to eradicate the "cancer" in the soccer world.
Fortunately, Chinese soccer still has a clean slate. Sun Wen and Gao Hongbo, among others, stuck to the bottom line and were rehired by the new FA leadership team. Sun Wen is in charge of diplomacy and women's soccer, while Gao Hongbo is in charge of the national team and referees. The safe retirement of Liu Tiejun, the former head of the FA's refereeing office, seems to mean that referees in Chinese soccer have remained impartial over the past decade. Looking ahead, we hope that the referees will not forget their original intention and try to maintain the fairness and impartiality of the game. As fans, we would rather see Chinese soccer suffer setbacks than see it in disarray.
