Former Chinese Football Vice-President Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison for Accepting Bribes: A New Low for the Sport

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A former top official of the Chinese football association, Li Yuyi, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for accepting bribes. This comes as part of a wider crackdown on corruption in sports in China. Li Yuyi, who was a former vice president of the Chinese Football Association, was convicted by a court in Jingzhou, Hubei province. In addition to his prison sentence, he was also fined $140,000. The court also ordered the confiscation of assets that he obtained through corrupt means, with the money being returned to the state.

In March, Li pleaded guilty to using his positions in the CFA to accumulate money and gifts worth over $1.7 million between 2004 and 2021.

Li served as vice president of the CFA from 2015 to 2019. Before that, he was head of Shanghai's sports administration.

Under President Xi Jinping, authorities have cracked down hard on graft in China's sports industry, especially in football.

Xi is a self-confessed football fanatic who has said he dreams of his country hosting and winning the World Cup.

But that ambition appears further away than ever after repeated corruption scandals and years of disappointing results on the pitch.

In March, former CFA head Chen Xuyuan was sentenced to life in prison for accepting bribes worth more than $11 million.

The same month, the former head coach of China's national team and ex-Everton midfielder Li Tie pleaded guilty to accepting over $10.7 million in bribes and helping to fix matches.

And in May, state broadcaster CCTV reported that Gou Zhongwen, former director of the General Administration of Sport of China, was under investigation for corruption.

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Around 10 high level CFA officials have come under investigation in recent months.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)