Article body analysed
Li Tie has been sentenced to 20 years in jail as part of a Chinese anti-corruption crackdown
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Former Everton and Sheffield United midfielder Li Tie has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after confessing to bribery charges related to match fixing, according to the Chinese state media. The former midfielder made 40 appearances for Everton across the 2002/03 and 2003/04 seasons, first on loan and then as a permanent signing, before leaving for Sheffield United in 2006. He made just a single League Cup appearance across two seasons at the South Yorkshire club. After ending his career playing in China, Li went into coaching, managing Hebei China Fortune and Wuhan Zall before becoming manager of the Chinese national team in 2019. He departed the post in December 2021. Li was placed under investigation in November 2022 for 'serious violations of the law', which were unspecified at the time. In February this year, it was reported that Li had admitted to accepting over $16m (£12. 6m) in bribes and fixing matches from 2016-21, as well as offering bribes of his own to secure the national team job. Li pleaded guilty to the charges in March. Li has now been sentenced to 20 years in jail for the offences. Three other former officials from the Chinese Football Association (CFA) had also been jailed a few days earlier. Former CFA president Chen Xuyuan was given a life sentence in March after pleading guilty to accepting bribes worth $11. 2m (£8. 9m). The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week. Following Li's sentencing, the BBC added that 'more than a dozen coaches and players have been investigated' as part of the Chinese government's anti-corruption crackdown. Speaking on an anti-corruption documentary broadcast on Chinese state TV earlier this year, Li said: "I'm very sorry. I should have kept my head to the ground and followed the right path. There were certain things that at the time were common practices in football. " This is the second major campaign against corruption in Chinese football after a similar campaign in 2010 saw multiple officials, players and referees jailed. One of Li's former clubs, Chengdu Blades (then owned by Sheffield United, later known as Chengdu Tiancheng, and now dissolved), were demoted from the top flight in 2010 for match-fixing offences on their way to promotion in 2007. Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, We Are Terriers. com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023. Joe Gomez: 'I was close to leaving Liverpool last summer, it was definitely for real' Manchester City encouraged to move for Paul Pogba after player revealed Pep Guardiola talks Five things we learned from AFC Bournemouth v Tottenham Hotspur Four Four Two is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site. ©
Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury,
Bath
BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.