On the evening of January 9, the Propaganda Department of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission jointly produced an anti-corruption feature film by China Central Radio and Television Group to announce its content, revealing that many figures, including Li Tie, Chen Xuyuan, Du Zhaocai and others, were suspected of serious violations of discipline and law. After the film premiered on January 9 the day before, it immediately aroused widespread attention and heated discussions from all walks of life.
As the facts revealed in the feature film, Li Tie's fraud became a key fuse for this incident. It is precisely because of Li Tie's involvement in the corruption case that countless officials suspected of it have been dismissed. Similarly, the issues of fake matches and match-fixing involved by Chen Xuyuan and Du Zhaocai at the club and national team levels have also been uncovered one by one due to Li Tie's intervention.
According to public reports, during his tenure as the head coach of two teams in the Chinese Super League, Li Tie relied on illegal means such as match-fixing to promote and help the team successfully promote and enter the Chinese Super League. Immediately afterwards, he relied on wealth and resources to pave the way and successfully bought the position of head coach of the national team. His rapid rise can be described as a naked game of exchange of interests. The turmoil revolved around Chen Xuyuan, Wuhan Zall Football Club and Chen Xuyuan himself, which ultimately led to the Chinese national men's football team unfortunately failing to qualify for the World Cup finals.
In the face of such a situation, one cannot help but wonder what is the future of the Chinese men's national football team? This question is not only a strong condemnation of corrupt elements such as Li Tie, Chen Xuyuan, and Du Zhaocai, but also a profound reflection on the entire Chinese football community. What kind of football environment do we need to build? A healthy, fair competition, transparent and open football atmosphere is undoubtedly the most important thing. Looking back on the past, during the period when Li Tie was in charge of the coaching whip of the Huaxia Happiness Team, his excellent coaching ability and excellent leadership skills have been vividly displayed, and he has achieved extraordinary results of "eight consecutive victories" many times, and has also won the reputation of "surpassing the myth". However, is this seemingly glorious achievement really as pure and selfless as it appears to be, and what is the real face behind it?
When we dig deeper, we can see that behind the so-called "myth of rushing over", there is actually an ugly shadow of money transactions. It is true that Li Tie's coaching level is beyond doubt, but to ask whether he won the victory by relying on his own hard power, I am afraid it is a question to be considered. Is the winning streak of the Chinese Happiness team based on real quality, or is it just a series of tournament places that are secretly purchased at a high cost?
In 2017, Li Tie took the helm of Wuhan Zall Club, once again showing his outstanding coaching talent. However, his methods have become more straightforward. According to public reports, he once explicitly asked the team to participate in match-fixing, which is undoubtedly an extreme insult to the football event. Is this just to pursue the glory of victory, or is it to realize the deeper interests of his heart?
The most shocking thing is that Li Tie seems to have an unknown collusion of interests with the Zall Club. Rumors claim that in order to create his opportunity to become the head coach of the national team, the club paid a huge price to bribe relevant people, including Chen Xuyuan, Liu Yi and others. This kind of behavior is not only a contempt for football, but also an extreme irresponsibility to the national team and the people of the whole country. What's even more bizarre is that for his own selfish interests, Li Tie disregarded the expectations of the national team and fans and took extreme measures. He struck a deal of up to 60 million yuan with Zall FC in exchange for arranging four players to join the national team in exchange for a huge monetary return. This behaviour is intolerable and further exacerbates the level of harm to football.
In the disastrous game of the Chinese men's football team, the relationship between Mr. Chen Xuyuan and Coach Li Tie occupied a pivotal position and became a key factor that cannot be ignored. It is true that Mr. Chen Xuyuan played a role in the selection and appointment of Coach Li Tie and acquiesced in recognition, so that Li Tie could smoothly take up the post of head coach of the national team. However, the hidden motive behind this is actually a naked game of money competition.
During his tenure as chairman of the Chinese Football Association, Mr. Chen Xuyuan attracted widespread attention. His appointment seemed to open a dark Pandora's box. According to media reports, on the eve of his appointment as president of the Football Association, someone actually paid him a so-called "worship pier" fee of up to 600,000 yuan. This scene is like a prelude to the beginning of his upcoming journey to power, and seems to foreshadow the days to come, which will be full of money transactions. During his tenure, he accepted bribes totaling tens of millions of yuan, including many "gifts" from coach Li Tie and various football clubs. The position of president of the Football Association, under his control, has been reduced to a tool for private access to money.
As for Coach Li Tie, he was able to successfully ascend to the throne of the head coach of the national team and has a close relationship with Mr. Chen Xuyuan. It is precisely because of the approval given by Mr. Chen Xuyuan and the help of the money transaction behind it that Li Tie has done everything in the national football team. His goal is clear and determined: he wants to use his World Cup qualification opportunity to cover up all his crimes. However, it is a pity that the players in the current national football team are bought by money, and their strength and actual level have long been corrupted beyond recognition by money. In such a situation, how can we expect them to achieve the desired results in the World Cup?
Recalling that year, when Mr. Chen Xuyuan was elected chairman of the Chinese Football Association, he promised the whole public: "I feel a great responsibility and a glorious mission, and I will be strict with myself and ...... upright". The obvious huge contrast between his words and deeds undoubtedly reveals the inherent cunning and depth of such a person, who has lost the most basic moral bottom line. In recent years, although he has not played a leading role in the anti-corruption program broadcast by CCTV, his corruption has been equally shocking. He has been in office much longer than Chen Xuyuan, and his behavior is even more heinous. For example, he is suspected of covering up the match-fixing and gambling incident in the Chinese League in China, apparently because he accepted "protection money" from others, so that the relevant departments could not carry out an in-depth investigation into the issue.
As early as 2015, the General Office of the State Council officially issued the "Overall Plan for the Reform and Development of Chinese Football", which clearly pointed out that it is necessary to focus on long-term interests, do a good job in fundamental work, and continue to invest in efforts in order to truly achieve the sustainable development of Chinese football. However, for people like Du Zhaocai and Chen Xuyuan, this plan is just a piece of waste paper. They only care about the petty profits in front of them, pursue the crazy accumulation of wealth and the big gamble of the World Cup, and completely ignore the overall interests of the country. They are convinced that as long as they win the World Cup, all previous crimes can be justified.
For those who go out of their way to cover up their crimes, they will even use the national football team as a bargaining chip and tool for collecting money and exchanging benefits. It is particularly noteworthy that, in addition to the four players of Wuhan Zall, it is doubtful whether the other players selected for the national team have a real national team level. These footballers have become scapegoats for covering up their crimes, once again highlighting the shamelessness and undisciplined behaviour of their people. Since November 2022, when head coach Li Tie was locked down by regulators and an investigation was launched, an unprecedented round of anti-corruption has erupted in Chinese football. Dozens of high-ranking officials, mid-level bureaucrats, club officials, referees and players have been scrutinized and investigated. However, the problems exposed by this anti-corruption campaign are only the tip of the iceberg, and the decades of backwardness and stagnation of Chinese football have deep historical roots.
The current predicament of Chinese football is no accident, and its root cause lies in the imperfect system design and the chaotic management process. For a long time, corruption and benefit transfer in the football industry have seriously affected and restricted the progress and development of Chinese football. Some unscrupulous people use power to operate secretly, trade interests, etc., so that the entire football industry is facing the loss of credibility and the problem of healthy growth.