China jails former football chiefs
China has jailed two former football chiefs, national team players and even referees in the toughest crackdown yet on rampant corruption in the sport.
Xie Yalong and Nan Yong, who had both previously run the national association, were each sentenced to ten-and-a-half years for taking bribes and ordered to pay 200,000 yuan (£20,000) in fines.
Xie was accused of taking over £170,000 in bribes, including money from Nike officials to secure a sponsorship deal with the Chinese Super League.
He was also accused of taking money from Zhu Guanghu, a former national team coach, to allow him to stay in his position. Xie has said he only signed confessions after being tortured and having his family threatened.
Nan, meanwhile, was found guilty of taking £148,000 of bribes.
A second court also found four national team players guilty of taking a total of eight million yuan (£800,000) in order to fix domestic matches.
Shen Si was sentenced to six years and fined 500,00 yuan, while Qi Hong, Jiang Jin and Li Meng each received five-and-a-half year sentences and the same fine.
The sentences come after a two-year campaign to root out the corruption that has enfeebled the national squad and cast suspicion over the Chinese league.
But many fans complained that the punishment was too lenient and that harsher action was needed to root out the problems.
Football is popular in China, but the state of the game nationally is a source of shame, despair and scathing humour for its fans.
The crackdown on corruption was ordered three years ago by the current Chinese leader, Hu Jintao, who said he was "very concerned" about the state of the game.
Xie's trial proved controversial, with the former official saying he had confessed only after being beaten and subjected to electric shocks. Police denied his allegations of torture.
"Will Chinese soccer be free of corruption after this houseclean? I am not that optimistic," the report quoted Chen Peide -- the former head of the sports bureau in the eastern province of Zhejiang -- as saying.
Chen has long been outspoken about corruption in the football world, and warned that "it will take a long time to solve the problem because the current system is a hotbed for corruption".
Meanwhile, many Internet users expressed sympathy for the players who were sentenced, saying they did not deserve such heavy punishment.
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