China football chief probed over ‘serious violations’

THE head of China’s governing body for football is under investigation for “serious violations of discipline and the law”, the government’s sports agency said on Tuesday (Feb 14).

Chen Xuyuan, who has been chairman of the Chinese Football Association since 2019, is under investigation by various national and regional agencies, according to a statement published by the General Administration of Sport of China.

The announcement comes after authorities launched a similar probe into former national men’s coach Li Tie in November last year, accusing him too of “serious violations of the law”.

No further details were given in either case on the alleged offences when the investigations were announced.

China’s leader Xi Jinping has targeted official corruption since coming to power a decade ago, waging a sweeping crackdown that critics say also serves as a way to oust political rivals.

One of China’s most recognisable footballers, former Everton player Li took charge as the national team’s head coach in 2020 but stepped down in 2021 during a poor qualifying campaign where his side failed to reach the Qatar World Cup.

Xi has described himself as a football fan and said he dreams of China hosting and winning a World Cup one day.

But after a boom period when Chinese clubs signed foreign stars for exorbitant fees, many teams hit hard times with several – including former champions Jiangsu FC – going to the wall.

Chen had previously talked of launching a “new image and face of Chinese football”.

But Xi’s ambition has faded further as stringent zero-Covid curbs forced Beijing to pull out of hosting major sports events such as the Asian Cup. AFP