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China footballers and officials banned for match-fixing | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
China's football association has banned 33 players and officials for life after a three-year probe into match-fixing. | |
The Shanghai Shenhua club was also fined 1m yuan (£103,000) and stripped of its 2003 league victory for fixing a match on its way to the title. | |
In recent years, China has increased efforts to clean up its football, which has been hit by a series of scandals. | |
Over the past year, more than 50 officials, referees and players have been jailed. | Over the past year, more than 50 officials, referees and players have been jailed. |
The corruption and rigging has at times been blatant, says the BBC's John Sudworth in Shanghai. | The corruption and rigging has at times been blatant, says the BBC's John Sudworth in Shanghai. |
One infamous match ended with a team clearly seen trying to score an own goal, he says. | One infamous match ended with a team clearly seen trying to score an own goal, he says. |
Attracting talent | Attracting talent |
Shanghai Shenhua was found guilty of offering bribes to officials to secure a 4-1 victory against Shanxi Guoli, Chinese media report. | |
In addition to the fine, the club was given a six-point penalty for the coming season, as was another top-division side, Tianjin Teda, which was also fined 1m yuan, said China Daily. | |
In total, 12 clubs have been given financial or points-based penalties, Xinhua reports. | |
Among the officials banned for life were two former heads of the Chinese football league, Nan Yong and his predecessor Xie Yalong, who are already serving 10-and-a-half years each in jail after being convicted of accepting bribes. | |
Another 25 players and officials have been given five-year bans. | Another 25 players and officials have been given five-year bans. |
China's football authorities hope that by cracking down on corruption cases they will raise standards and attract foreign talent to play in the country. | |
Former English Premier League players Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka both joined Shanghai Shenhua in 2012, but left after just one season. |
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