Chinese FA crackdown hits clubs with points deductions and fines for match-fixing and corruption

January 30 – Nine clubs will begin the new Chinese Super League (CSL) season with points deductions after the latest round of sanctions stemming from investigations into match-fixing, gambling and corruption.

This is another major blow to the domestic game that has spent the better part of a decade battling credibility issues.

Shanghai Shenhua, last season’s runners-up, and Tianjin Tigers received the heaviest penalties, each docked 10 points before a ball is even kicked. Four of the punished clubs have already been relegated to China League One, underlining how deep the disciplinary net has reached. In total, 13 teams were fined sums ranging from £21,000 to £104,000 (200,000 to one million yuan).

The sanctions follow a sweeping probe into manipulation and illegal betting activity tied to professional football. Authorities framed the measures as necessary to restore order and trust.

A statement said the penalties were intended: “To uphold industry discipline, purify the football environment, and maintain fair competition.”

“The point deductions and financial penalties imposed on clubs are based on the amount, nature, seriousness and social impact of the improper transactions in which each club was involved,” the CFA said, adding that it would maintain its “zero-tolerance” policy toward corruption.

Chinese football has repeatedly promised reset moments – and repeatedly found itself back in crisis.

The latest punishments follow last year’s crackdown in which 43 officials and players received lifetime bans. Among them was former national team coach and ex-Premier League midfielder Li Tie, who was jailed after admitting to fixing matches, taking bribes and offering bribes to secure a top coaching role. He and 73 others were banned from football for life.

The persistence of these cases points to structural weaknesses caused by fragile club finances, opaque governance, political pressure, and boom-and-bust investment cycles that create incentives for short-term survival over long-term integrity.

Points deductions and fines may change the table. Whether they change the culture is the harder question.

2026 Season Point Deductions (Chinese Super League & Related)

• -10 Points: Shanghai Shenhua, Tianjin Jinmen Tiger
• -7 Points: Qingdao Hainiu
• -6 Points: Henan FC, Shandong Taishan
• -5 Points: Shanghai Port (reigning champions), Zhejiang FC, Beijing Guoan, Wuhan Three Towns
• Relegated Sides: Changchun Yatai (-4) and Meizhou Hakka (-3)

The  ‘fake gambling’ scandal

Chen and Li have both been banned from football for life, after the scandal exposed a web of bribery and match manipulation that served as a conduit for organised crime.

A two-year investigation by the Ministry of Public Security and the CFA revealed that at least 120 domestic matches were fixed, implicating 41 clubs across multiple tiers of Chinese football. In total, 128 individuals were arrested or placed under investigation for gambling, match-fixing, and bribery.

In September 2024, the CFA imposed lifetime bans on 43 individuals. Among the most prominent were Son Jun-ho, a South Korean World Cup player who had featured for Shandong Taishan, and former China internationals Jin Jingdao and Guo Tianyu.

Tie, the former Everton midfielder and ex-China head coach, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in December 2024 for bribery and match-fixing, while former CFA president Chen Xuyuan received a life sentence after accepting more than $11 million in bribes.

The term “fake gambling” described a system in which matches were not merely wagered on, but pre-arranged. Criminal syndicates used illegal online platforms and “white-label” gambling sites to fix outcomes, paying players and referees to deliver specific scores or in-game events, such as a set number of corners, ensuring the house always won.

These manipulated matches functioned as a front for laundering large sums of illicit cash through sophisticated cybercrime networks.

Many fans have blamed the scandal for China’s decline on the international stage, including the national team’s humiliating 7–0 defeat to Japan in 2024

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