Chinese police have announced the arrest of up to 16 former players, along with club and league officials, as part of a probe into match fixing in the country’s professional soccer league.
News of the arrests, announced by the Ministry of Public Security, was a top story in newspapers and Web sites yesterday, with reports focusing on how money was exchanged to fix the outcome of games.
News of the detainments come amid increased scrutiny over the sorry state of the sport in China, including extraordinary statements of concern from officials as high-ranking as Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (習近平).
In one instance in August 2006, Yang Xu (楊旭), general manager of second-tier team Guangzhou Pharmaceutical, was accused of handing 200,000 yuan (US$30,000) to his counterpart at rival club Shanxi Wellsend, Wang Po (王珀), to ensure a win for Guangzhou. Shanxi players were instructed to lose by a wide margin. The game ended in a 5-1 win for Guangzhou.
The reports said Wang Po and another manager, Wang Xin (王鑫), allegedly bet on the game with an overseas soccer gambling Web site. But their alleged winnings of just 100,000 yuan (US$15,000) suggest Wang Po was acting on behalf of a larger syndicate that had put up the money for the original bribe.
The reports said the investigation was aided by the arrest of Wang Xin in the northeastern province of Liaoning in April after he fled Singapore amid an investigation into match fixing in the southeast Asian city state.
The Singapore probe turned up evidence of match fixing in the Chinese league, helping investigators tie Wang Xin to others involved in the corruption.
Only four of those detained were named in the reports: Wang Xin, Wang Po, Yang Xu and Ding Zhe (丁哲), a former coach in the Chinese league.
They were held on the charge of “suspicion of employing commercial bribery to manipulate the outcome of soccer matches,” the reports said.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday vowed that those behind bogus flood control projects would be arrested before Christmas, days after deadly back-to-back typhoons left swathes of the country underwater. Scores of construction firm owners, government officials and lawmakers — including Marcos’ cousin congressman — have been accused of pocketing funds for substandard or so-called “ghost” infrastructure projects. The Philippine Department of Finance has estimated the nation’s economy lost up to 118.5 billion pesos (US$2 billion) since 2023 due to corruption in flood control projects. Criminal cases against most of the people implicated are nearly complete, Marcos told reporters. “We don’t file cases for
Ecuadorans are today to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s president more power. Voters are to decide on the presence of foreign military bases, which have been banned on Ecuadoran soil since 2008. A “yes” vote would likely bring the return of the US military to the Manta air base on the Pacific coast — once a hub for US anti-drug operations. Other questions concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would
‘ATTACK ON CIVILIZATION’: The culture ministry released drawings of six missing statues representing the Roman goddess of Venus, the tallest of which was 40cm Investigators believe that the theft of several ancient statues dating back to the Roman era from Syria’s national museum was likely the work of an individual, not an organized gang, officials said on Wednesday. The National Museum of Damascus was closed after the heist was discovered early on Monday. The museum had reopened in January as the country recovers from a 14-year civil war and the fall of the 54-year al-Assad dynasty last year. On Wednesday, a security vehicle was parked outside the main gate of the museum in central Damascus while security guards stood nearby. People were not allowed in because
A feud has broken out between the top leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on whether to maintain close ties with Russia. The AfD leader Alice Weidel this week slammed planned visits to Russia by some party lawmakers, while coleader Tino Chrupalla voiced a defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unusual split comes at a time when mainstream politicians have accused the anti-immigration AfD of acting as stooges for the Kremlin and even spying for Russia. The row has also erupted in a year in which the AfD is flying high, often polling above the record 20 percent it
RSS