The second batch of punishment lists for anti-gambling, anti-corruption and anti-crime activities: if announced, it should be synchronized with access

Reporter Lu Mi reports In early September, the Disciplinary Committee of the Chinese Football Association announced the first batch of "banned" lists for the results of anti-gambling and anti-corruption in football, and 43 people were banned for life, and 17 people were banned for 5 years. Although the punishment of the clubs involved in the case was not announced, at the press conference to announce the list, Song Kai, chairman of the Chinese Football Association, stressed: "We are resolute in our attitude towards the management of fake gambling in the football industry. It will not be tolerated, and it will be announced to the public in a timely manner and subject to social supervision. This remark also made the outside world pay special attention to the second batch of punishment lists. Because once a club is punished, especially involving disqualification or relegation, it will affect the league structure.

The 2025 league access work is already in full swing, and the second batch of penalty lists, if confirmed, should be announced as soon as possible, at least in sync with the access work, so as to facilitate the preparation of the clubs.

In September this year, the first batch of "banned" lists after the anti-gambling and anti-corruption crackdown was released, mainly targeting players involved in "fake gambling and black". Earlier, the senior leaders of the Football Association involved in the case, Chen Xuyuan, Chen Yongliang, Li Yuyi, etc., have been sentenced by the court in the first instance, but the punishment in the industry has not yet arrived. The list released in September did not involve the punishment of the relevant clubs, but Song Kai's statement at that time made the outside world feel that the punishment of the clubs involved in the industry must not be less. Therefore, for a long time after that, this matter has sparked a wide range of discussions in the industry, from the end of the season to the end of the season, everyone has their own speculation about which clubs are involved in the case and the possible punishments, and there are many voices speculating about "point deductions" and "relegation".

According to the regulations, if a Chinese Super League team is punished for direct relegation, then the team that is relegated this year will be replaced as usual. If more clubs are punished, then the third or even fourth place in the Central League has the possibility of being replaced. Therefore, some teams have made relevant preparations, and even in the "winter window" that will open in the future, there will be relevant actions for the introduction of domestic and foreign aid.

Judging from the information disclosed by the public trial of a series of cases by courts in Hubei at the beginning of the year, the number of clubs involved in the crimes of only four former senior officials of the Football Association is staggering. Among them, there are as many as 23 clubs involved in Dong Zheng, more than 20 Chen Yongliang, 13 Yu Hongchen, and 9 Chen Xuyuan. It's just that the only names of the clubs that were made public at that time were Hebei Huaxia Happiness, Tianjin Quanjian and Guangzhou Evergrande. For example, Chen Xuyuan's case mentioned that he accepted a request from Meng Jing, then president of Huaxia Fortune Foundation Co., Ltd., to provide assistance to the company's Huaxia Club in event arrangement, job recommendation, and qualification access. From September 2019 to the second half of 2021, Chen Xuyuan received a total of 16 million yuan.

At present, it seems that the most likely case involved in the club involved is unfair transactions, that is, game manipulation, match-fixing, and bribery. So, how to define the standard of punishment of the club involved?

In fact, this can refer to the punishment results of the last anti-gambling and anti-crime in football. At that time, a total of 12 clubs were punished, and 8 were involved in improper transactions, among which Tianjin TEDA was fined 1 million yuan and deducted 6 points for buying ball in the match between A A and Shanghai International in November 2003; Shanghai Shenhua won the championship for manipulating the match between A A and Shaanxi National Power in November 2003, and was fined 1 million yuan and deducted 6 points; Jilin Yanbian was fined 500,000 yuan and deducted 3 points for deliberately losing in the 11th round of the Chinese League in June 2006 against Guangyao; All three clubs were asked to return their prizes. Guangzhou Guangyao and Chengdu Sheffield United were fined for demotion, and Qingdao Hailifeng Club was disqualified from registration and fined 200,000 yuan. Referring to the cases of Chengdu Sheffield United and Qingdao Hailifeng, Chengdu Sheffield United paid 500,000 yuan (300,000 cash, 200,000 false receipts) to Qingdao Hailifeng through commercial bribery in the 2007 season, with which the latter deliberately lost in a crucial match with it.

In the last anti-gambling and anti-crime case, 4 clubs were involved in bribery, and the relevant clubs were all fined, Shandong Luneng was fined 1 million yuan, and Changchun Yatai, Jiangsu Shuntian and Henan Jianye were all fined 500,000 yuan.

At present, it seems that in the second batch of punishment list, if there is a punishment of the club involved, it will also refer to the previous punishment standard, that is, the club involved in improper transactions and affecting the results of the game, its punishment will involve penalty points or relegation, or even cancellation of registration qualification, and the club that pays bribes should be fined.

The second batch of lists to be released soon, the punishment of the club and the relevant personnel involved in the case, first of all, and the judgment results of the relevant cases, which is the reference basis for punishment in the industry; secondly, it is necessary to look at the facts involved in the case and identify whether it is an individual act or a club act; Thirdly, if it is a club act, it depends on whether it is bribery or manipulation of the results of the game, and if it is the latter, the punishment will be heavier.

There is a lot of speculation about when the second batch of lists will be announced and which clubs will be punished. After all, the number and extent of the first batch of "banned" personnel announced far exceeded the last anti-gambling crackdown.

When the last industry penalty was announced, the relevant person in charge of the Disciplinary Committee of the Chinese Football Association said: "The punishment is based on two principles, one is to respect the facts and laws determined by the judicial organs; The second is to comprehensively consider the historical environment at the time of the act and the reality of the future development of Chinese football. "For the two anti-corruption campaigns in football, the primary basis for punishment in the industry is the facts determined by the judicial authorities and the relevant criminal penalties, for example, in the first batch of lists, there are some players who have been banned for life and have already served their sentences in the past two or three years. In view of the fact that some people have not yet been sentenced, it is possible that a new batch of punishment lists will need to wait for further trial and judgment of the case.

The second batch of punishment lists has not been announced for a long time, and it is also reported that it is because after the national football team won two consecutive victories in the World Preliminaries, the punishment of the clubs involved and the relevant personnel will be reduced. However, the punishment in the industry, including whether to punish and sentencing, is not unilaterally decided by the Chinese Football Association, and there is a specific policy basis.

Article 2 "Principles" of the Disciplinary Guidelines of the Chinese Football Association (2024 Edition) contains the following words: The Disciplinary Committee of the Chinese Football Association follows the principles of independence, openness, impartiality and fairness, and the combination of punishment and education, and punishes violations of rules and disciplines in a timely manner. The Disciplinary Committee of the Chinese Football Association resolutely cracked down on violations of rules and disciplines such as "fake gambling and black". Where violations of rules and discipline violate relevant national laws and regulations, the person responsible for the violation of rules and discipline shall bear the corresponding civil or criminal legal responsibility in accordance with the provisions of the relevant laws and regulations.

Article 12 "Penalties applicable to all types of subjects", and paragraph 7 is "prohibition of engaging in any football-related activities", which is also known as "banning".

Article 14 "only applicable to the punishment of the organization", there are "demotion and cancellation of promotion qualifications". In addition, the types of penalties in the regulations also include fines (up to 1 million), demerit of points, return of awards, cancellation of competition results, disqualification from competition, disqualification from registration, etc.

Article 74 "Improper Trading Behavior" clearly stipulates that improper trading behaviors include, but are not limited to, "fake gambling" and other bad behaviors, and if a natural person or organization violates sports ethics, loses sportsmanship, or engages in improper trading in order to obtain improper competition results or improper benefits, the following penalties shall be imposed upon the determination of the Disciplinary Committee: (1) Natural persons: fines and prohibitions from engaging in any football-related activities. (2) Organization: fines, point deductions, demotion, cancellation of promotion qualifications, and cancellation of registration qualifications. (3) Other penalties stipulated by the Chinese Football Association.

In addition, at the end of 2021, the General Administration of Sports and the Ministry of Public Security jointly issued the "Notice on Seriously Investigating and Dealing with Gambling, Match-fixing and Other Violations of Laws and Disciplines and Laws to Strengthen Industry Self-discipline and Autonomy", the notice clearly pointed out that "athletes, coaches, referees and other personnel who have gambling, match-fixing and other violations of rules and disciplines will be given a written review, fines, and ordered to hand over the proceeds of disciplinary violations, depending on the severity of the circumstances. Suspension of training allowance and incentive salary, expulsion from sports teams, ban (lifetime ban) and other penalties. If a professional league is involved, the league organization, the professional club and the management personnel who are directly responsible shall be punished at the same time. Although the list has not yet been announced, the clubs involved in the case, whether it is the relevant personnel, there is no possibility of escaping punishment.

Compared with the first batch of lists, the timing and content of the second batch of lists will also have a more far-reaching impact. It is reported that the Chinese Super League will start in February next year, which is the earliest year of the Chinese Super League in recent years. In the last period of 2024, all professional clubs are in full swing to carry out the access work for the new season, the 25th is the last time to submit access materials, before the end of December, the access work will be completed, and then enter the publicity period in January next year. The announcement of the second batch of lists should be in line with the pace of access, and if it involves clubs that have been relegated or cancelled, then other clubs that may be replaced will have to be adjusted in terms of investment and recruitment. At present, there are rumors that the club involved will only be fined points and not relegated, which has not been officially confirmed by the Chinese Football Association. The early announcement of the list can also avoid clubs attracting "banned" players in the "winter window", which will bring unnecessary losses.