In a surprising turn of events, a former Chinese soccer star who once played in the English Premier League has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for corruption. The 47-year-old Li Tie, who once played for Everton alongside stars like Wayne Rooney, is now facing the consequences of his actions in China’s professional soccer scene. Despite China’s leader Xi Jinping's dream to elevate the country to a "world soccer superpower, " corruption and poor management have been rampant. The Chinese men’s national soccer team's disappointing performance in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers sparked a thorough investigation into bribery and match-fixing.

Li Tie was one of several soccer officials caught in this net. He was accused of accepting over $6. 8 million in bribes between 2019 and 2021 while serving as the head coach of China’s national and select teams. Prosecutors alleged that he influenced player selections and even helped clubs win matches. To get the coaching position, Li and his club reportedly paid bribes. Authorities also accused him of fixing matches for two Chinese league clubs from 2015 to 2019. Li expressed remorse during a documentary aired by the state broadcaster, admitting that he had grown dependent on unethical shortcuts to achieve success.

China’s courts, controlled by the Communist Party, have a high conviction rate, and it’s common for state media to highlight confessions in high-profile cases before trials. Li’s story is a dramatic fall from grace. Once a national icon for playing in the English Premier League and representing China at the 2002 World Cup, his career took a downward spiral marked by injuries and a lackluster national team performance.

Ex-Soccer Star's Corruption Sentence: A Game Gone Wrong

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