Dj Vnyash
Li Tie, the former coach of China’s men’s national football team, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison following a trial on corruption charges, according to state media reports on Friday. Xinhua news agency confirmed that Li, a former Everton player, was sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of 20 years after an initial trial, but did not provide additional details.
Since Xi Jinping assumed power, there has been an ongoing crackdown on corruption, with the sports industry becoming a key target by late 2022. This week, several former football administrators were convicted.
Li, who served as the national team coach from January 2020 to December 2021, admitted earlier this year to accepting over $10 million in bribes. The 47-year-old, a well-known former footballer, notably played as a midfielder for Premier League club Everton.
Li featured in a documentary aired by state broadcaster CCTV in January, where he discussed widespread corruption in Chinese football. In the program, he admitted to arranging nearly $421,000 in bribes to secure the head coach role and acknowledged his involvement in match-fixing during his time as a club coach in the Chinese Super League. He expressed regret, saying, “I’m very sorry. I should have kept my head to the ground and followed the right path,” while also noting that certain practices were common in football at the time.
Silverio Omari
