CHINA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - The former chief of Chinese soccer Xie Yalong stands trial in northeast China, facing bribe-taking charges, state media report

Record ID: 1960258

  • Title: CHINA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - The former chief of Chinese soccer Xie Yalong stands trial in northeast China, facing bribe-taking charges, state media report
  • Date: 26th April 2012
  • Summary: DANDONG, LIAONING PROVINCE, CHINA (APRIL 24, 2012) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (CCTV - NO ACCESS CHINA) EXTERIOR OF COURT BUILDING POLICE VEHICLES ARRIVING AT COURT VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF DANDONG INTERMEDIATE PEOPLE'S COURT BULLETIN BOARD VARIOUS OF BULLETIN READING XIE YALONG TRIAL BEGINS AT 9 AM ON APRIL 24 FORMER HEAD OF CHINESE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION ENTERING COURT ESCORTED
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China, China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Crime,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVAW48GMS8OONL1C8OBTTI8WS8U
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: The former chief of Chinese soccer stood trial against bribe-taking charges on Tuesday (April 24), the latest chapter in a massive anti-graft drive aimed at cleaning up the corruption-blighted local game, state media reported.
    Xie Yalong, the former director of the Football Administrative Centre, is the highest-ranking official to face trial in an anti-graft campaign that was launched over two years ago.
    Xie's case was heard on Tuesday morning at the Intermediate Court in Dandong in the northeastern Liaoning province where another top official, Yu Shaohui, is also on trial.
    Xie, 56, has been accused of taking 1.7 million yuan (273,000 U.S. dollars) in bribes, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
    The former track athlete allegedly accepted bribes from a dozen of companies, football clubs and individuals on 12 occasions between 1998 and 2008, including 178,400 yuan (28,300 U.S. dollars) from a senior executive in China for U.S. sportswear giant Nike, to help the company win a sponsorship deal, said Xinhua, quoting court papers.
    Reuters could not reach a Nike spokesperson in China for comment. It was not clear if the executive in question, Li Tong, still works for the company.
    Xie's attorney Jin Xiaohui said his client had denied "parts of the charges" against him in court, Xinhua said.
    A verdict is expected later on Tuesday, it added.
    Other officials are to go on trial in the following days at two local courts.
    Chinese soccer has been dogged by match-fixing scandals for years which, along with violence on and off the pitch, has turned fans off the domestic game.
    A prominent former soccer boss and a referees director were handed long jail terms for bribery and match-fixing in February.
    Four referees, including Lu Jun, a former World Cup match official once celebrated as China's "Golden Whistle", were handed jail terms of up to seven years on Thursday for match-fixing and corruption-related offences.
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