11/01/2024 8comments  |  Jump to last

Former Everton midfielder Li Tie has confessed to being involved in match-fixing following an investigation by the Chinese government into corruption in Chinese football.

Li, 46, who was head coach of the Chinese national team between October 2019 and December 2021, admitted to arranging nearly $421,000 (£330,954) in bribes to bag the position of the head coach and secure the head coach position and took part in fixing matches during his tenure as a club coach.

Li told China Central Television (CCTV): “I'm very sorry. I should have kept my head to the ground and followed the right path. There were certain things that at the time were common practices in football.

“By gaining 'success' through such improper means, it actually made me more and more impatient and eager for quick results.

Article continues below video content


"In order to achieve good performance, I resorted to influencing referees, bribing opposing players and coaches, sometimes through clubs dealing with other clubs. This behaviour becomes a habit, and eventually, there is even a slight dependence on these practices.”

» Read the full article at Liverpool Echo

Reader Comments (8)

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer ()


Christine Foster
1 Posted 11/01/2024 at 12:02:22
I suppose the media will report it as "Everton's Li Tie" any association to mud...
James Hughes
2 Posted 11/01/2024 at 12:20:49
Does anyone believe he was allowed to deny or defend himself against the charges.

This is a country where Xi (Winnie the Pooh) Jinping had one of his predecessors forcibly removed from the stage during the annual conference. throw in the crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong and I am not sure what I believe the Chinese media say.

Of course he could be guilty but I more than a bit dubious.

Barry Williams
3 Posted 11/01/2024 at 12:23:57
James Hughes @2,

I lived in China – both Wuhan and Shanghai, and Hong Kong before that when the Umbrella Revolution was happening.

One thing that I learned is anything that comes out of China, through any official channel, should not be believed, or certainly heavily doubted, even when based on truth.

Alan McGuffog
4 Posted 11/01/2024 at 16:30:52
Another points deduction ?
Paul Kossoff
5 Posted 12/01/2024 at 17:31:15
Money is never enough with these footballers, is it?

If you can spare near £400,000 in bribes, how much have you got in the bank? God knows what goes on in the currupt world of sport (look what happened to us) – and it's mostly down to money.

Mike Gaynes
6 Posted 12/01/2024 at 17:49:00
Barry, me too re Wuhan and Shanghai, and you're absolutely right. Even when I was there, before Xi. It wouldn't surprise me if Li is simply paying the price for being a crap manager. The national team under him was so bad as to be embarrassing.

Where were you in those cities? My wife's family is from Wuhan, so I've spent big chunks of time there (including when Li was manager of Wuhan Zall), and I did some business in Shanghai and lived briefly in the Jing An district.

Barry Williams
7 Posted 13/01/2024 at 10:50:20
Mike Gaynes - 6

I seem to remember having a conversation about this a number of years ago. I was in Jiang Xia in Wuhan and then spent my time in Shanghai mostly in Jing'an - just overlooking the older main Shanghai station. My job at the time - the one when I was based in Shanghai, took me all over China, from Heifei, to Qingdao to a number of other cities. I got to see quite a bit of China, albeit from 5 star hotels (5 star China style though)

With regards to Li Tie - he probably didn't grease the hand of the correct CCP official.

Peter Moore
8 Posted 15/01/2024 at 07:29:04
I remember when Li Tie and Lei Weifeng were signed, linked to the Keijan shirt sponsorship deal. Seemed a strange thing at the time to me.

We didn't get pissed/up Thai players when Chang sponsored us, or sporting heroes of the Internet when online sponsors moved in.

Li Tie was a poster boy for China then, wasn't he, 'The David Beckham' of China I recall him being described as by the Club on the official site. Quite a come down indeed.

If innocent, I hope he can get himself extricated from this mess and not end up in the clink, but looks unlikely currently, from the statements released, doesn't it?

Add Your Comments

In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.

» Log in now

Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site.


How to get rid of these ads and support TW

© ToffeeWeb