On December 24, 2025, the Disciplinary Committee of the Chinese Football Association’s former director, Wang Xiaoping, reacted angrily to the first-instance judgment of his bribery case, kicking over the defendant’s stand and deciding to appeal. Today, on December 24th, the second-instance verdict was handed down, rejecting his appeal and upholding the original judgment.
On December 24th, the Intermediate People’s Court of Jingzhou City, Hubei Province, announced the second-instance judgment of Wang Xiaoping, the former director of the Disciplinary Committee of the Chinese Football Association’s bribery case, publicly ruling to reject the appeal and uphold the original judgment.
Wang Xiaoping had served as the director of the Disciplinary Committee of the Chinese Football Association for many years. During his tenure, he had issued several controversial penalties.
In March 2023, Wang Xiaoping came under investigation.
In April of this year, the 65-year-old Wang Xiaoping stood trial for the first time, facing charges of accepting bribes totaling 6.45 million yuan.
On July 30th of this year, the Songzi City Court in Hubei Province publicly announced the verdict of Wang Xiaoping’s bribery case, sentencing him to ten years and six months in prison for the crime of bribery.
At the first-instance trial, Wang Xiaoping adamantly claimed his innocence. However, his defense was not accepted by the court.
It is worth mentioning that the first-instance court determined Wang Xiaoping’s bribe amount to be 5.45 million yuan, which was 1 million yuan less than the prosecution’s accusation of 6.45 million yuan. Nevertheless, Wang Xiaoping remained dissatisfied.
Insiders revealed that Wang Xiaoping was extremely angry after hearing the verdict of the first-instance trial, kicking over the defendant’s stand.
On the day of the verdict, Wang Xiaoping decided to appeal immediately. His family also stated that he would definitely appeal. His lawyer will continue to defend him against the charges.
The report mentioned that Wang Xiaoping’s case is particularly unique in this recent anti-corruption campaign in football—Wang Xiaoping recanted immediately after being transferred to the prosecution, denying the bribery accusations. The differences between the prosecution and defense on whether a crime was committed were significant, leading to a slow progress in the case.
Since the investigation of the former head coach of the Chinese national football team, Li Tie, at least nearly twenty middle and high-level officials within the Chinese Football Association have been sentenced. Former Vice Chairman of the Football Association, Li Yuyi, was sentenced to 11 years in prison, and former Vice Chairman Yu Hongchen was sentenced to 13 years.
Previously, Li Tie also appealed after the first-instance trial. However, the result of Li Tie’s second-instance appeal showed that the court rejected his appeal, upholding the first-instance verdict, and Li Tie was still sentenced to 20 years in prison.