The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has imposed lifetime bans on 43 individuals for match-fixing and related corruption.
This comes as part of a two-year investigation, detailed by Zhang Xiaopeng, a senior police official, at a news conference in Dalian. The probe uncovered a series of online gambling, match-fixing and bribery cases, leading to lifetime bans for 43 individuals by the CFA.
A total of 120 domestic league matches, 128 criminal suspects and 41 clubs were implicated in the investigation. Of those banned, 38 were players and five were officials. Lifetime bans were issued to former Chinese internationals Jin Jingdao, Guo Tianyu and Gu Chao.
China’s football performance has long been lacklustre, and this crackdown is the latest attempt to address corruption in the sport. Despite these challenges, the country still has a chance to qualify for the expanded 48-team FIFA World Cup in 2026, hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada.
However, this ban has had global repercussions, particularly in the betting landscape. Massachusetts gaming regulators have agreed to indefinitely suspend betting on soccer overseen by the CFA.
At a Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) meeting on Thursday, Sports Wagering Operations Manager Andrew Steffen informed commissioners that US integrity had alerted his division to the match-fixing incidents. The integrity monitoring company is still investigating and will provide further information to regulators.
Steffen highlighted the urgency of the situation, noting that MGC-approved operators were still offering bets on Chinese Super League matches governed by the CFA as of Thursday morning.
Commissioner Nakisha Skinner emphasised that “we have a responsibility to act on the information” available. Consequently, Interim Chair Jordan Maynard and the commissioners unanimously decided to temporarily suspend betting on CFA-governed soccer to protect integrity until the investigation is completed and a final determination is made.
