On September 10th, a decree issued by the Chinese Football Association caused a seismic shift in the football world. 43 football players suspected of gambling and match-fixing have been permanently banned from participating in football activities. Among them are 3 former national team players, Jin Jingdao, Guo Tianyu, Gu Chao, as well as South Korean player Son Jun-ho. Additionally, 17 players including Wang Song have been banned from football for 5 years.
According to a report by the Chinese state media “The Beijing News,” materials on 61 football professionals involved in gambling and match-fixing were transferred to the Chinese Football Association by the Public Security Bureau’s Public Security Management Bureau. Of these, 44 individuals have been criminally punished for bribery, corruption, running gambling establishments, gambling offenses, and other charges. 17 individuals were found guilty of bribery and match-fixing.
After review by the disciplinary committee of the Football Association, 60 penalties were issued, including lifetime bans for 43 individuals from engaging in any football-related activities, and bans for 17 individuals from football activities for 5 years.
Reported by “Shot China,” among the 43 individuals banned for life, Jin Jingdao, Guo Tianyu, Yang Shanping, Gu Chao, have all previously been selected for the national team. Jin Jingdao, who was a key midfielder for the national team under the coaching of Li Tie, participated in the previous round of 40 strong and 12 strong games. Gu Chao has also been selected for the national team on multiple occasions and played in the World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
On the list of individuals banned for 5 years, Wang Song is the most well-known figure. He has represented the national team on numerous occasions and participated in the Qatar Asian Cup in 2011 under Gao Hongbo. As a veteran player over 40 years old, Wang Song has rarely been associated with negative news in Chinese football. There had been no previous reports of him being investigated.
The head of the Public Security Management Bureau stated that during the two-year investigation into domestic illegal gambling and match manipulation, a total of 128 criminal suspects were captured, including the aforementioned 43 individuals. Currently, the courts have sentenced 44 football professionals involved in the case, with 34 individuals receiving imprisonment sentences.
The Chinese Football Association announced this news a few hours before the China-Saudi Arabia home game in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. On September 5th, in the Asian qualifiers round of 18, China suffered a 0-7 defeat to Japan in Tokyo.
Recently, several high-ranking officials in the Chinese sports sector, particularly in football, have been sentenced.
In March of this year, former Chairman of the Chinese Football Association, Chen Xuyuan, was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of accepting “extraordinary” bribes. The sentence was handed down by the Chinese court, which deemed his actions as “seriously disrupting fair competition and order”. According to People’s Daily, Chen Xuyuan received a total of 81.03 million yuan in material possessions from others.
At the end of March, former national team head coach and former Everton midfielder Li Tie was charged with five counts, involving over 110 million yuan.
In May, state media CCTV reported that Gou Zhongwen, former Director of the State Sports General Administration, is under investigation for corruption issues.
In August, former Vice Chairman of the Chinese Football Association, Li Yuyi, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for bribery and fined 1 million yuan.