Former Premier League Star and National Coach Li Tie Convicted of Bribery Amid China’s Sports Corruption Purge
On Friday, former Premier League player and coach of China’s national football team, Li Tie, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of bribery. This sentence comes as part of an ongoing crackdown on corruption within the country’s sports sector, a campaign spearheaded by President Xi Jinping, who has been relentlessly targeting deep-rooted corruption across all levels of government and industry since taking power over a decade ago. Li’s case marks a high-profile moment in the government’s broader efforts to clean up the sports industry, following a series of convictions for former football administrators.
Li, who is 47 years old, had long been considered one of China’s most influential football figures. He was appointed head coach of the Chinese national football team in January 2020, serving until December 2021. Prior to coaching, Li enjoyed a successful career as a midfielder, earning nearly 100 international caps for China and playing in the English Premier League for Everton. However, it was during his tenure as national coach that he became entangled in corruption allegations, leading to his conviction.
According to reports from state broadcaster CCTV, Li used his status as national team coach to solicit nearly 51 million yuan (around $7 million) in bribes. These bribes were reportedly offered in exchange for favors, such as selecting certain players for the national team or facilitating their transfers to football clubs. In addition, CCTV revealed that Li allegedly paid bribes to secure his position as head coach in 2019, a claim that was supported by documents showing Li gave one million yuan to unnamed individuals to help him land the job.
Li’s involvement in corruption was not limited to his coaching role. During his time at the now-defunct Chinese Super League (CSL) club Wuhan Zall, Li was accused of colluding with club officials to distribute bribes to secure his national coaching position. Furthermore, he was implicated in widespread match-fixing activities, with accusations suggesting that bribes were paid to fix matches and secure player transfers, activities that allegedly date back to 2015. CCTV also reported that Li played a significant role in these illicit activities, making large sums of money from arranging these corrupt deals.
Li’s conviction followed his guilty plea earlier this year, in which he admitted to accepting over $10 million in bribes. The case was further solidified by his appearance in a CCTV documentary aired in January, where he made a public confession about his involvement in corruption within Chinese football. In the documentary, Li admitted to organizing nearly $421,000 in bribes to secure his role as national team coach and confessed to helping fix matches in the CSL. He expressed remorse during the televised confession, stating, “I’m very sorry. I should have kept my head to the ground and followed the right path. There were certain things that at the time were common practices in football.”
Li’s conviction is part of a larger effort by Chinese authorities to rid the sports industry of corruption. Since 2022, anti-graft officials have targeted the sports sector, resulting in several high-profile convictions of former football officials. Earlier this week, Liu Yi, the former secretary general of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), was sentenced to 11 years in prison and fined 3.6 million yuan ($495,000) for accepting bribes. Meanwhile, Tan Hai, the former head of the CFA’s referees management office, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison and fined 200,000 yuan for the same offense. Additionally, Qi Jun, the former chief of strategic planning at the CFA, was sentenced to seven years and fined 600,000 yuan.
Li’s conviction, along with those of other officials, is seen as part of President Xi’s broader anti-corruption campaign, which is also aimed at promoting clean governance and ensuring that the public’s trust in officials and institutions is restored. However, some critics view this crackdown as a means for Xi to eliminate political rivals and solidify his hold on power, with the anti-corruption efforts often leading to high-profile purges within the government.
Xi’s football ambitions have long been a topic of public interest. The Chinese president is a self-proclaimed football fan and has voiced his desire to see China host and win the World Cup one day. However, despite these ambitions, the Chinese national football team has failed to achieve significant success on the international stage. FIFA currently ranks China 90th in the world, just one spot above the tiny Caribbean island of Curacao. Critics argue that while Xi’s efforts to clean up Chinese football through anti-corruption measures may be necessary, the team’s ongoing struggles highlight the challenges facing the country’s football development system.
Li’s case is an emblematic example of the systemic issues within Chinese football and the broader sports sector, where corruption has run deep for years. The crackdown, while seen as necessary by some, has raised questions about the underlying challenges that have hindered the growth of the sport in China. The sentencing of Li and other officials is unlikely to be the last of its kind, as the government appears determined to root out corruption, regardless of the political or economic consequences.