Former president of the Chinese federation receives life imprisonment for corruption

This Tuesday, 26th, Chen Xuyuanformer president of Chinese Football Associationwas sentenced to life in prison for accepting bribes totaling more than 11 million dollars (around R$54 million), as reported by the Chinese state press, as part of a major campaign against corruption within sport.

A court in Hubei province, in the central region of the country, sentenced the former president of the ACF “to life imprisonment for accepting bribes”. Between the years 2010 and 2023, Xuyuan took advantage of his positions within the federation and other entities “to illegally accept sums of money from other people that reached 81.03 million yuan.”

Chen Xuyuan, former head of the Chinese Football Association, was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday by the Huangshi Intermediate People’s Court in central China’s Hubei for bribery worth over 81 million yuan (about $11.42 million). pic.twitter.com/qMJZU08TpK

— People’s Daily, China (@PDChina) March 26, 2024

The sports director sought to obtain “undue advantages for several football clubs and local football associations”, by manipulating game results or promotions, in addition to sanctions against referees. China’s state newspaper says the bribes were “particularly huge” and that Xuyuan’s actions undermined “fair competition and order in the football sector.” Chen assumed the presidency of the entity in 2019, but had previously held prominent positions in Chinese football. In January this year, he confessed in a television documentary that he had accepted money from people who wanted preferential treatment. “Fans can accept the fact that the situation in Chinese football is bad. But they cannot forgive corruption”he stated.