Former Chinese national team coach sentenced to 20 years in prison

This morning (December 13), the Xianning City Court (Hubei Province, China) sentenced former football coach Li Tie to 20 years in prison for giving and receiving bribes. Li Tie is one of the big names in Chinese football, having played in the English Premier League and served as head coach of the Chinese national team.

Li Tie has been under investigation since late 2022. The 47-year-old former coach was found guilty in a trial held in March this year at the Xianning City Court (Hubei Province).

Li Tie - former head coach of the Chinese national team - was sentenced to 20 years in prison for giving and receiving bribes.

According to the indictment, from 2015 to 2021, Li Tie gave and received bribes totaling 120 million yuan (equivalent to about 16.5 million USD). During this time, he worked as an assistant coach at Hebei China Fortune Club (now Hubei Football Club) and was appointed head coach of the Chinese national team.

In his position of having the power to decide on the national team's personnel, Li Tie accepted bribes to include some players in the call-up list. While at the club, Li Tie used bribes to fix scores and player transfer deals.

Li Tie is one of several football officials in China who have been caught up in the law in recent years. Several others have been sentenced to between 30 months and 14 years in prison for corruption-related crimes.

In September 2024, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) banned 38 players for life. The punishments came after a two-year investigation into match-fixing and football betting involving 120 matches and 41 clubs.

Xiao Ming

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/cuu-hlv-tuyen-trung-quoc-bi-tuyen-an-20-nam-tu-ar913465.html