BEIJING: China's football association issued lifetime bans to 73 people, including former national team head coach Li Tie, and punished 13 top professional clubs for match-fixing and corruption, it said Thursday. Under President Xi Jinping, a sweeping anti-corruption crackdown has swept through Chinese football in recent years, exposing the rotten state of the professional game. Several top officials in the Chinese Football Association (CFA) have been brought down, while dozens of players have been banned for match-fixing and gambling. He is now banned from all football activities for life, alongside 72 others, the CFA statement said. The football clubs that will be punished are similarly high-profile.

Source: Indian Express January 29, 2026 11:16 UTC