Following the verdict of Chen Xuyuan, Yu Hongchen, Dong Zheng, and Chen Yongliang, Li Tie, Li Yuyi, Ma Chengquan, Huang Song, Gu Jianming, Fu Xiang and many other former heavyweights in Chinese football have been tried in court, which also means that more Chinese football has happened in the past few years, and unknown "fake gambling black" is surfacing, and more and more clubs and relevant responsible persons are involved.
But so far, all the cases that have been exposed, the clubs and related personnel involved are basically related to the national team, the Chinese Super League and the Chinese Super League.
When a series of "elites" at the top of Chinese football have committed crimes, we can't help but ask - are the problems in Chinese football at the top of the top of Chinese football?
In fact, in the past few years, we have had big problems in the lower leagues and junior competitions. The U13 and U15 groups of the Provincial Games in many regions have been exposed to match-fixing, and the Guangdong U15 match-fixing case has indeed shown a relatively severe handling of the case under the public's attention. However, most of the match-fixing turmoil in the Provincial Games and Municipal Games was quickly "harmonious" after being exposed, and did not set off too much turmoil, and basically took a cold treatment.
And in the past few years, the lower leagues of Chinese football can be described as a muddy water. The Chinese League has long been called the "Chinese Fake", and there are many "bastard" teams with huge contrasts between the performances before and after the season, and the staff of some teams have given "hints" very bluntly on the sidelines, which have been clearly recorded by the live broadcast. However, in this wave, many of the relevant personnel who caused "controversy" in the lower leagues in the previous two years have not been out of contact for a long time, so it is obvious that they will most likely not be punished by law in this wave.
It is not a pity that these criminals from the "above" will be severely punished if they are caught, but if we only grasp the "above" and not the "bottom", will the general environment of Chinese football be better?
In the 2023 season, when the Chinese football world is trying to get rid of the dark cloud of fake gambling, there are still clubs that are taking risks. A club that was promoted from the Champions League last year to the second division this year, their qualification for the second division can be said to have been bought all the way. When they privately contacted the opponent's players before some games, and used different prices of 300,000 to 500,000 yuan to get the opponent's core players; what is the difference between this operation and Zheng Bin's practice of contacting Li Fei when Huaxia rushed to the super, and it is nothing more than that the amount is much worse!
But this is no longer a secret "small matter" in the circle of the lower leagues, and the relevant clubs and staff have not been taken away for investigation so far. Is it also related to the fact that the attention of the Crown Championship is too low, and I am afraid that it has not attracted the attention of the relevant departments? And this kind of "ugly thing" is not an isolated case!
Not to mention the three-level professional league of Chinese football, it is the championship of the professional league, as well as some youth games, and even the purely amateur village super, which has aroused the interest of relevant institutions.
But when the city games and provincial games in various places have begun to train children to play match-fixing, will these players who have been accustomed to match-fixing since childhood stop playing match-fixing when they reach the professional team?
The Chinese Championship, the Chinese Second Division, and the Chinese First Division are all "fake", but in the end they are dealt with at the level related to the Chinese Super League and the national team.
If we compare Chinese football to a "skyscraper", then the youth competition, the Chinese championship, and the second division are the foundation of this building. The problems existing in Chinese football, the Chinese Super League and the national team are superficial phenomena, and the core factor is that the foundation below has not been laid.
However, in the process of building a "skyscraper", the problems of the foundation have not been solved, and it can even be said that the building is crooked, and only the top floor is knocked out, so do you think this "skyscraper" can be raised?
For Li Tie, Chen Xuyuan, Du Zhaocai, Yu Hongchen, Li Yuyi, Liu Yi, and others who have been sentenced or are waiting for the verdict to be announced, they deserve severe punishment. But Chinese football has not done well for so many years, they are just passers-by who "go with the flow", but it is obvious that the reason why Chinese football has not been engaged for decades is just caused by this small group of criminals?
If the problems that arise below are all "passable", then how much will the basic work of Chinese football be changed? I am afraid that only punishing Li Tie, Du Zhaocai, and Chen Xuyuan above will only treat the symptoms but not the root cause!