When China went to war on endemic football corruption

When Tianjin Tianhai surprisingly thrashed Rafael Benitez's Dalian Yifang 5-1 to stay in the Chinese Super League in November, disgruntled fans were quick to allege corruption -- the legacy of a murky past that exploded into scandal 10 years ago.

Benitez, who led Liverpool to the 2005 Champions League title, was perplexed by one of the heaviest defeats of his coaching career, saying: "This is a game that I don't quite understand." Despite fan complaints to the Chinese Football Association (CFA), no case was brought and there is no evidence of wrongdoing.

But the haste with which some supporters claimed match-fixing was proof that deep scars remain, a decade after a major crackdown on graft that ensnared a string of leading figures in Chinese football.

Allegations of organised gambling, crooked referees and match-fixing had dogged the sport in the world's most populous country for years.

Coupled with the national side's poor performances, fans were disillusioned, attendances suffered and sponsors fled.

It was in this climate in January 2010 that Nan Yong, supremo at the CFA, and two other senior CFA figures were hauled in by police on allegations of bribe-taking and match-fixing.

When police raided a Beijing villa belonging to Nan they discovered gold, diamonds and watches that he confessed he accepted from clubs and referees.

In a widening corruption investigation, scores of CFA officials, club executives, referees, players and agents were questioned in the following months.

According to some, the crackdown was at the behest of Xi Jinping, the then vice-president of the country who has since become China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.

Xi has pledged to make China a leading football power.

"It is an open secret that the chaos in Chinese soccer is not a matter of (only) one rotten egg spoiling the whole pudding," the state-run China Daily said in January 2010, urging an overhaul.

CFA officials routinely fixed matches, including national team and league games, by buying off players or referees, state media alleged.

Some CFA officials also reportedly accepted pay-offs from players desperate to be in the national team -- a practice that was also widespread among at club level.

- Torture claim -
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- 'Golden Whistle' silenced -
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