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4 detained in crackdown on match-fixing
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Chinese police detained at least four people in a nationwide crackdown on match-fixing and gambling that ravaged the scandal-ridden domestic professional soccer leagues.
The Ministry of Public Security says, they detained a number of former players, along with soccer and club officials, on suspicion of manipulating domestic soccer matches through commercial bribery.
Wednesday's detention came as an official announcement the government is finally getting serious about sorting out the sorry state of its domestic soccer scene.
The Ministry of Public Security released details about some detainees.
Wang Xin - is a former Shenyang player; He was general manager of Singaporean club Liaoning Guangyuan in 2007; He fled Singapore in 2008 for match-fixing in the Singaporean league; He is currently wanted by Interpol.
Wang Po - General manager of Shaanxi Guoli in 2003, moved the relegated Guoli club to Zhejiang and later to Heilongjiang, before the club was disqualified from the second tier league; Became general manager of Tibet Huitong club in late 2005, moved the club to Shanxi and later renamed it Shanxi Wellsend.
Ding Zhe - Former Shenyang player; Head coach of Singaporean club Sinchi in 2005; Assistant coach of Shanxi in 2006; Head coach of Liaoning Guangyuan in 2007.
Yang Xu - Former vice president of the Guangzhou Football Association; Deputy general manager of current Chinese Super League team Guangzhou Pharmaceutical FC.
Some are also suspected of gambling through foreign websites.
The Ministry of Public Security did not reveal how many people had been questioned in its probe or whether active players or big names were involved.
Chinese soccer has long been regarded as a national disgrace, full of match-fixing, corruption, violence, poor play and dwindling crowds. China's national team, qualified for the World Cup finals just once, in 2002, and now languishes outside the top 100 in the FIFA rankings.
A large-scale investigation into possible organized gambling and match-fixing on professional matches hit the headlines at the beginning of the month.
China's soccer governing body, the Chinese Football Association is expressing its full support of this nation-wide clampdown.
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