The outcome of the game has long been decided, but behind the scenes of Chinese football, a more fierce struggle is quietly unfolding. November 9, 2022, this seemingly ordinary day, has become a turning point in the history of Chinese football. On this day, former national football coach Li Tie was taken away by the task force for investigation when he participated in training, which started this huge football anti-corruption storm. This incident, not just an ordinary news point, has revealed the deep-seated problems in the football world and made people start to re-examine integrity and fairness in the field of sports.
With Li Tie's investigation, it seems that a big net is gradually unfolding, and the corruption problem within the football world is gradually exposed to the public eye. Over the next year or so, the turmoil intensified. From Li Tie, the task force gradually revealed more people involved in the case, including Chen Xuyuan, former chairman of the Chinese Football Association, Du Zhaocai, former deputy director of the General Administration of Sports, etc., and 11 high-ranking officials were involved. These figures, once the authoritative symbols of Chinese football, are now under investigation for corruption cases. This is not just a series of individual problems, but also a reflection of the loopholes in the management and oversight mechanisms within the sports system.
But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Middle and high-level officials of the Football Association, and even many officials of the Chinese Super League, have been caught up in this whirlpool. In this corruption case, there were not only bribes, but also bribes. Among them, the most eye-catching is the former CCTV football program host Duan Xuan. Duan Xuan has been prosecuted by the Shancheng District Procuratorate in Hebi City, Henan Province for offering bribes. The target of his bribe was Liu Aijie, the former director of the Olympic Games Preparation Office of the General Administration of Sports.
Speaking of Duan Xuan, he has a lot of influence in Chinese football. Since joining CCTV in 1995, Duan Xuan has not only created the nationally renowned "World Football" program with his professional football knowledge and excellent hosting skills, but also hosted four World Cups. But in 2015, at the age of 43, he resolutely resigned from CCTV and joined Wang Sicong's Banana Project Sports Company, serving as CEO and holding 20% of the company's shares. This transformation is not only a career leap, but also reveals the complex web of relationships between sports media and business.
According to Li Weiao, a reporter from the Economic Observer, Duan Xuan paid bribes of more than 9.5 million yuan to Liu Aijie between 2018 and 2020 in order to help the company get more business. Liu Aijie, as the former director of the Olympic Games Preparation Office of the General Administration of Sports, was also investigated on April 4, 2023, and Duan Xuan was revealed during his investigation. This behavior not only undermines the fairness of the sports industry, but also raises doubts about the business practices behind sports. Duan Xuan's approach not only affected his personal reputation, but also brought a lot of impact to the entire sports world.
Duan Xuan's bribes were mainly focused on the selection of people and intermediary services for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. On December 20, 2023, the Intermediate People's Court of Hebi City, Henan Province, pronounced the verdict of the first instance: Liu Aijie accepted a total of about 2,381 bribes. 580,000 yuan, and was finally sentenced to 11 years in prison and fined 2 million yuan. This verdict is not only a personal punishment for Liu Aijie, but also a warning to the entire sports world. It demonstrates the law's zero-tolerance approach to corruption in the field of sport and conveys to the public the determination of the sports community to clean up the door and restore justice.
In the transaction between Duan Xuan and Liu Aijie, there is another important figure, that is, Liu Aijie's wife and Zhang Xiuyun, the head coach of the Chinese rowing national team. Zhang Xiuyun's achievements are not to be underestimated in the world of sports, she was the silver medallist in the women's double sculls at the Atlanta Olympics, the women's single sculls champion at the Busan Asian Games, and the first Chinese athlete to win a medal in rowing in Olympic history. At the same time, as Liu Aijie's wife, she was also caught up in this whirlpool of corruption.
According to reports, in order to avoid directly using Liu Aijie's own account for illegal transactions, Duan Xuan's bribe funds were mostly transferred through Zhang Xiuyun. These transactions took place in several countries and cities, including Norway, Spain, Indonesia, and multiple locations in China. Especially in 2020, when Liu Aijie bought a villa in Shunyi District, Beijing, Duan Xuan transferred 1.5 million yuan to Zhang Xiuyun through Banana Project Sports. This transnational and complex flow of money not only reveals the international nature of corruption in sports, but also its hidden and complex nature.
With the arrest of her husband Liu Aijie, Zhang Xiuyun was also investigated, and a number of illegal acts she was involved in were confirmed one by one. Now, Liu Aijie has been sentenced to 11 years in prison, and Zhang Xiuyun is awaiting the verdict of the law. The couple, who for a time became the most eye-catching focus of Chinese sports, seemed to have been overshadowed by prison.
This anti-corruption storm in football has not only shaken the sports world, but also aroused deep public concern about the future development of Chinese football. In this wave of anti-corruption, both high-level officials and celebrities in the media have been strictly scrutinized, reflecting the determination and strength of the anti-corruption campaign. And all this is just the beginning of the long-term development of Chinese football. Behind this turmoil, there are expectations and efforts for the healthier and fairer development of Chinese football.