Former Chinese national team coach Li Tie caused a stir when he pleaded guilty to bribery and match-fixing.

Chinese football is in the midst of a major anti-corruption campaign, with several top figures under investigation or indicted, according to AFP. Li Tie, the former Everton midfielder and former China national team coach, is under investigation in 2022 for alleged “serious violations of the law”.

No details of the case were known until Li Tie pleaded guilty on the evening of January 9, as part of an anti-corruption documentary aired on CCTV (China's state television).

Li Tie confesses to bribery to secure China national team coaching position

CCTV regularly broadcasts confessions of criminal suspects, including former officials, before they appear in court.

In this program, Li Tie said he paid nearly 421,000 USD in bribes to secure the position of head coach of the Chinese national team and helped fix matches when he was leading the club. "I am very sorry. I should have followed the right path," Lie Tie said.

When he took over as national team coach in January 2020, Li Tie claimed he had achieved one of his “biggest dreams.” But the documentary, which aired on January 9, painted a less healthy picture. According to the content of the documentary, the 46-year-old former player asked Wuhan Zall, his club, to intervene on his behalf with the Chinese Football Association (CFA), promising to repay the favor. The club paid 2 million yuan ($281,000) to bribe Chen Xuyuan, then CFA president and now under investigation for corruption.

Li Tie also said he personally bribed the CFA Secretary General with 1 million yuan.

The Chinese team disappointed when they could not win a ticket to the 2022 World Cup finals.

According to the chairman of Wuhan Club - who was interviewed in the documentary - after Mr. Li Tie was appointed, 4 players of the team were called up to the national team even though they were not qualified to play at this level.

The Chinese national team ultimately failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, leading to coach Li Tie leaving in 2021. In late 2022, China's anti-corruption agency launched an investigation into the former Premier League defender, which has since led to the removal of around 10 senior CFA leaders and executives, including former president Chen Xuyuan.

Mr. Chen Xuyuan, who was prosecuted last September for corruption, confessed in the documentary to accepting large sums of money from people who wanted to receive favors from him.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/cuu-hlv-doi-trung-quoc-li-tie-gay-chan-dong-khi-nhan-toi-hoi-lo-ban-do-185240111103957434.htm