"Whispered 5-3 Comeback Defeat" Chinese Youth Soccer Match-Fixing Leads to Multiple Sanctions

Chinese Football Association Announces Results of 4-Month Investigation
Netizens Criticize Corruption and Fraud Rampant in Jung Football

The scene from the youth soccer match at the Guangdong Province Sports Festival held last August. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] In China, match-fixing in a youth soccer game was uncovered, leading to mass disciplinary actions against those involved.

On the 25th, the Chinese Football Association announced on its website that match-fixing was confirmed in the final of the under-15 youth soccer competition held at the Guangdong Provincial Sports Games last August. Consequently, the Football Association disciplined 16 individuals, including those involved in the manipulation and responsible officials, by dismissing them.

The final match was between the Guangzhou City team and the Qingyuan City team. Around the 20th minute of the second half, the Qingyuan team, leading 3-1, substituted a player. This player secretly whispered to a teammate, after which the Guangzhou team scored four consecutive goals to ultimately win 5-3 in a comeback victory. During the match, defenders stood still without moving, and even the Qingyuan goalkeeper kicked the ball, which rolled toward him, as if passing it to a Guangzhou player in front of the goal, aiding the opposing team's scoring.

Given these circumstances, suspicions of match-fixing arose immediately after the game, and as the controversy grew, the Chinese Football Association launched a full-scale investigation. After four months of inquiry, the association confirmed that the match-fixing allegations were true. Officials from both teams had conspired in advance to manipulate the outcome.

As a result, Chinese netizens have raised critical voices not only about youth soccer but also about Chinese soccer as a whole. One netizen sarcastically commented, "Not only adult soccer but also youth soccer is fixed, so what can young players learn? The only thing evolving and developing in Chinese soccer is cheating and corruption." Another netizen pointed out, "Now I understand why China, with a population of 1.4 billion, cannot qualify for the World Cup despite huge investments. As long as corruption runs rampant, Chinese soccer will never have a relationship with the World Cup."

Some netizens also recalled the humiliation of the Asian final qualifiers for the World Cup last February. They suggested, "Losing to Vietnam, which was thought to be a weak team, was not bad luck but possibly due to some behind-the-scenes deals in player selection." At that time, China lost 1-3 to Vietnam, led by coach Park Hang-seo, failing to qualify for the World Cup finals. After the defeat, Chinese soccer fans expressed intense anger, saying things like "It's humiliating. Don't come back to China," and "Despite all the attention, funds, and methods used, why do we remain stagnant and even regress?" According to the newly released FIFA rankings on the 22nd of this month, China is ranked 80th, and Vietnam is 96th.

Since 2010, the Chinese government has been investigating soccer match-fixing and punishing those involved, but match-fixing incidents involving coaches, players, referees, and clubs continue to recur. Additionally, the Discipline Inspection Team of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission, stationed at the General Administration of Sport, along with the Hubei Provincial Supervisory Commission, announced last month that they are investigating former national team coach Li Tie for "serious legal violations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.