Refs jailed in China

Four Chinese football referees were sentenced to prison on Thursday after being found guilty of corruption and match-fixing.

A court in Liaoning found the quartet guilty of serious offences in relation to the fixing of football matches.

Huang Junjie received the most severe sentence, with the former referee set to serve seven years in jail after fixing several matches between 2005 and 2009, including a friendly between Chinese side Shenzhen FC and English Premier League giants Manchester United.

Wan Daxue was sentenced to six years behind bars after he was convicted of receiving a hefty sum of money for fixing matches during the Chinese National Games.

Lu Jun, the first ever Chinese referee to officiate at a World Cup during the 2002 tournament in Korea and Japan, was sentenced for five-and-a-half years for accepting bribes in domestic league matches, while Zhou Weixin was jailed for three-and-a-half years.

This followed the sentencing of five football officials, including Lu Feng, who used to run the Chinese Football Association’s Super League.

He will spend six-and-a-half years in prison for accepting bribes.

Several more former players, coaches and officials are facing upcoming trials as Chinese football tries to rid itself of corruptions problems that have plagued the sport in recent years.