The scandal of Chinese Football Association officials accepting Korean bribes continues to escalate. While the Korean Football Association apologized earlier this month for this incident, Korean media recently exposed more details, claiming that three Chinese Football Association personnel accepted inappropriate bribes while in Korea for an exchange program.
According to a report by South Korean media outlet “Hanminjok 21” on August 18, in January 2012, three Chinese Football Association officials visited Korea for “referee exchange” activities. The Korean Football Association is also suspected of providing these three individuals with “inappropriate hospitality.”
The report stated that the three individuals at that time were the head of the referee department, the referee accountant, and the referee affairs manager of the Chinese Football Association, all from the referee management department.
Additionally, the Korean Football Association reportedly used its association’s corporate credit card to pay 900,000 Korean won (equivalent to approximately 4300-5700 Chinese yuan at the time) during this visit, which was recorded in internal reimbursement files but the details were altered to appear as regular expenses.
Earlier, South Korean media outlets like JTBC revealed, based on supervisory data from the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism in 2016, that the Korean Football Association between March 2011 and March 2012 allegedly used the corporate credit card to pay for expenses at massage parlors, adult entertainment establishments, and provided “inappropriate hospitality” to foreign referees, match supervisors, etc., who came to Korea for World Cup qualifiers, Olympic qualifiers, and friendly matches.
The Korean Football Association publicly apologized on August 8 and stated that such behaviors no longer exist.
However, the Korean Football Association’s response did not quell the scandal, as Korean media continued to reveal related details.
The above news quickly spread in the Chinese football community, with many Chinese netizens mocking the situation, questioning whether Chinese football is at a level that requires bribery. Some comments included, “I wonder what is worth bribing in the Chinese Football Association,” “If you can’t play well, that’s okay, but accepting bribes, the football association is totally rotten,” and “Playing around with women under the guise of exchange, how dare they? Embarrassing even overseas.”
Some netizens expressed that nothing about the Football Association in the news surprises them anymore and lamented the lack of integrity and reputation.
As public opinion continued to grow, the Chinese Football Association issued a statement on August 19, stating that recent reports by South Korean media about three Chinese Football Association officials receiving “inappropriate hospitality” from the Korean Football Association during a referee exchange in January 2012 have garnered attention. The Chinese Football Association stated that they are taking this matter seriously, conducting an investigation, and will promptly announce the investigation results in response to public concerns.
Many Chinese netizens believe that if the authorities truly investigate, it shouldn’t be difficult, and the key lies in the official stance.
Some netizens commented, “With the year, position, it should be easy to identify specific individuals,” and “The time, place, people involved, and activities are known, so it shouldn’t be difficult to investigate.”
Others expressed disappointment that despite China’s efforts to crack down on gambling and corruption in football for two years, it took an external source like Korea to expose the darkness within the referee sector.
(Source: New Tang Dynasty)