BEIJING, Jan 10, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - The former Chinese national football team
coach has made a televised confession in which he admitted to paying hundreds
of thousands of dollars in bribes to secure the top job, as well as
involvement in match-fixing.

Chinese football has been in the grip of a major anti-corruption campaign
that has seen numerous leading figures investigated or charged.

Li Tie, a former Everton midfielder who served as the national team's head
coach, was placed under investigation in 2022, accused by authorities of
"serious violations of the law".

No detailed information on the case has been available until his confession
on Tuesday night, part of an anti-graft documentary aired on state
broadcaster CCTV.

CCTV regularly airs confessions by criminal suspects, including former
officials, before they have appeared in court -- a practice widely condemned
by rights groups.

In the programme, Li said he had arranged nearly $421,000 in bribes to secure
the head coach position -- and to have helped fix matches when he was a club
coach.

"I'm very sorry. I should have kept my head to the ground and followed the
right path," the 46-year-old said.

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

- Paying for the job -

When he took the national coach job in January 2020, Li declared he had
achieved one of his "biggest dreams".

But Tuesday's documentary painted a less wholesome picture.

It said Li had asked Wuhan Zall Football Club -- where he then worked as
coach -- to intervene on his behalf with the Chinese Football Association
(CFA), promising to return the favour.

The club paid two million yuan ($281,000) in bribes to Chen Xuyuan, then
president of the CFA and now also subject to a corruption investigation.

Li also said he gave one million yuan from his own pocket to the secretary-
general of the CFA.

Following his appointment, four Wuhan Zall footballers were appointed to the
national team -- players who were not qualified to play "at that level",
according to the club president, who was interviewed in the documentary.

China eventually failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, leading
to Li quitting in 2021.

The national anti-corruption agency launched an investigation into him at the
end of 2022.

Around 10 senior leaders and executives of the CFA have also been brought
down since, including former president Chen.

Chen was indicted in September for corruption, confessing in the TV
documentary to having accepted large sums from those wishing to get in his
good graces.

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

But ambitions of developing the men's team into an international powerhouse
have not come to fruition.