Football: former Everton player Li Tie sentenced to life in prison in China
New Delhi, Feb 24: Former Chinese footballer and China national team coach Li Tie has been sentenced to life in jail after his confession and conviction in match-fixing and corruption.
Li Tie played for Everton FC 40 games across all competitions in four years at the English club, from 2002 to 2006, after arriving on loan from Liaoning FC in China, according to media reports.
He was also assigned to Sheffield United FC in the English Premier League in 2006 but made only one appearance because of his serious injury.
The 46-year-old, who managed the China national team from 2019 to 2021, will now spend the rest of his life in jail, a year after he left as national team manager. He was suspected of ‘accepting and offering bribes.’
He was also found involved in a match-fixing scandal to secure his side to win promotion when he was managing Hebei China Fortune and Wuhan Zall.
On a Chinese state broadcaster, Li confessed he had paid 330,000 euros in bribes to become a manager of the Chinese national team.
“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.
“Gaining success through such improper means made me more and more impatient and eager for quick results. To achieve good performance, I influenced referees and coaches, sometimes through clubs dealing with other clubs. This behavior becomes a habit and, eventually, there’s even a slight dependence on these practices.”
Li Tie retired from professional football in 2001 and four years later he became the manager of Hebei China Fortune FC. As a professional footballer, he played for Everton FC, Sheffield United, Chengdu Blades and Liaoning FC.
