Former Chinese national team coach Li Tie has been put on trial for bribery and other charges, marking the latest in a “typhoon of circumstances” by authorities targeting the entire Chinese soccer industry.

On February 2, state-run China Central Television 온라인카지노(CCTV) reported that the Supervisory Commission of Zibi City, Hubei Province, and the Zibi City Public Security Bureau recently completed their investigations into Li, and the Shenning Municipal People’s Procuratorate charged him with bribery and other offenses.

The specific charges against Li are bribery and solicitation of bribes, bribery of units, and solicitation and solicitation of non-state actors, which is when a civilian illegally accepts the property of another.

Li, a midfielder for the Chinese national team at the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, took over the reins of the national team in January 2020 amid high expectations from Chinese soccer fans, but stepped down in December 2021, midway through qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar, following a poor showing.

Then, in November of last year, it was reported that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious misconduct and was being investigated by authorities.

In China, Li and other former and current officials of the Football Association, as well as former chairman Ma Chengquan of Zhongqiao Lian Co, which organizes the Chinese Super League, and deputy director of the General Administration of Sport Du Zhaochai, have fallen under suspicion of corruption.

As the scandal has escalated, coaches and players of Shandong Taishan, where South Korean national soccer team member Son Jun-ho plays, have also been investigated for match-fixing.

Son Jun-ho has been under investigation by the Chaoyang Public Security Bureau in Liaoning province since May 12, when he was detained on suspicion of soliciting non-state agents while returning home from Shanghai’s Hongqiao Airport, and the bureau switched to a criminal investigation on June 17.

South Korean diplomatic officials said they are in close communication with their Chinese counterparts, who have dispatched a local diplomat to meet with Son and hold consular interviews.

While there has been no further news on Son Jun-ho, it is known that a detention investigation in China can last as little as two months and as long as seven months, raising the possibility that Son Jun-ho’s detention could be prolonged.