Thirteen Chinese clubs to start season on minus points after major match-fixing scandal

Martin Macdonald

• 30 Jan 2026 08:30 CST
• 3 min read

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Thirteen clubs have been punished by authorities for match-fixing, gambling and corruption within the Chinese Super League.

The clubs involved will start the 2026 Chinese Super League with a points deduction, while monetary fines have been handed out also.

Shanghai Shenhua, who finished second in the competition last season, and Tianjin Tigers have been given the harshest punishment. They will each start the campaign with a 10-point deficit plus a fine.

The 13 teams involved have been fined between £21,000 and £104,000 (200,000 and one million yuan).

A statement from the Chinese Football Association reads:

"The Chinese Football Association, the Discipline and Ethics Committee of the Chinese Football Association has comprehensively and systematically sorted out the case materials, and completed the Deliberation of industry penalties for clubs and personnel involved in the case. In order to strictly discipline the industry, purify the football environment, and maintain the fairness of the competition, the punishment decision is hereby notified as follows:

"Based on the amount, circumstances, nature and social impact of the club's improper transactions involved in the case, the following punishment is now imposed: Tianjin Jinmen Tigers Football Club and other 13 clubs will be given a penalty of deducting professional league points in the 2026 season and fine.

"All member units and clubs should learn the lessons deeply, take them seriously, ring the alarm bell at all times, educate and guide all athletes, coaches and staff to adhere to the legal bottom line and professional ethics, and jointly maintain the hard-won good development environment of Chinese football. The Chinese Football Association resolutely implements the decision-making and deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council on promoting the revitalization and development of football. It has always maintained zero tolerance and deterrence, and high-pressure punishment forces are always present. We will never be soft or tolerant of violations and discipline in the football field."

In September of 2024, no less than 43 players and officials were given lifetime bans for participating in match-fixing.

One of the more high-profile names involved in such scandals in China is former Everton midfielder Li Tie, who has actually been jailed for his offences.

Li, formerly the coach of the China national team, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for bribery in December of 2024.

The BBC reports that he took $16 million worth of money for "fixing matches, accepting bribes, and offering bribes to get the top coaching job."

"I'm very sorry. I should have kept my head to the ground and followed the right path," he said.

"There were certain things that at the time were common practices in football."

The former CFA president, Chen Xuyuan, was jailed also for accepting bribes worth $11m.

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