The evening of January 9 is the finale of the hit drama "Flowers", but a feature film broadcast at the same time period has received more attention than "Flowers" in ratings, which is the anti-corruption feature film "Continue to Make Efforts and Promote in Depth". In this episode, Du Zhaocai, Chen Xuyuan, Li Tie and others appeared on camera to confess, and a series of corruption cases in the football field once again attracted the attention of the whole people.
Since being investigated in November 2022, the name of Li Tie, the former head coach of the men's national football team, has become the focus of heated discussions among fans and audiences. When people pay attention to Li Tie, what are they paying attention to? Is it just curiosity and onlookers? From Du Zhaocai to Chen Xuyuan, from Li Tie to club players, from match-fixing to bribery, why is the shadow of corruption pervasive in football? What does it mean for Chinese football to fight corruption?
On the evening of the 10th, the live broadcast program (replay) of the Governor's Lounge invited Peng Xinlin, professor of the Law School of Beijing Normal University, executive director and deputy secretary general of the China Association of Integrity and Legal System, and Wang Yang, a special reporter for sports in Beijing, to answer the doubts in the hearts of fans and viewers around the anti-corruption storm in football. Wang Yang believes that the image restoration of the national team in the future is a difficult process, which requires the joint efforts of internal and external linkage; To promote the development of the Chinese Football League, it is necessary to continue to advance the professional league, and at the same time let the work of the Football Association focus on youth training, football population expansion, policy formulation, national team training, women's football security, etc.
Peng Xinlin's analysis pointed out that the previously announced five suspected crimes of Li Tie, the feature film has all disclosed the relevant circumstances, and Li Tie will pay a heavy price for his criminal behavior; The power of the Football Association is too centralized, leaving room for corruption, and a scientific and effective power operation mechanism should be established; The "no mercy" of anti-corruption in sports has put forward new and higher requirements for "not daring to be corrupt".
Screenshot of the live broadcast Li Tie on five counts of crimes.
The plot has been fully disclosed.
Governor: The Hubei Provincial People's Procuratorate previously listed five crimes that Li Tie was suspected of, namely, bribery, bribery by units, non-state functionaries, and bribery to non-state workers. Judging from the feature film, which of Li Tie's behaviors are suspected crimes that have been disclosed? Judging from the amount of money involved and other information, what kind of punishment may Li Tie face?
Peng Xinlin: Judging from the information disclosed in the feature film, the above five crimes are basically involved. For example, Li Tie, as the head coach of the Huaxia Happiness Club, instructed assistant coach Zheng Bin to use 6 million yuan to "beat" the opponent's players, which involved the crime of offering bribes to non-state workers. At the instigation of Li Tie, Wuhan Zall Club did not hesitate to "rush", but in fact it was smashed with money, that is, bribes in the name of the club, and Huaxia Happiness spent 14 million yuan to "say hello", which involved the crime of bribery by the unit. In addition, in order for Li Tie to become the head coach of the national team, the club and himself paid bribes of 3 million yuan to Chen Xuyuan, the former chairman of the Football Association, and Liu Yi, the former secretary general of the Football Association.
Li Tie is suspected of five crimes, and has been prosecuted by the procuratorate in accordance with the law, and is currently in the first trial stage. Judging from the facts of the case disclosed so far, if Li Tie signed a 60 million yuan "contract" as a guise to trade power and money with the club, the amount involved is particularly huge. According to the laws of our country, it can be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of more than 10 years or life imprisonment; In another example, Li Tie offered a bribe of 1 million yuan to Liu Yi to seek improper benefits, and the bribery is a serious circumstance, and he can be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 5 years but not more than 10 years. Based on the facts of the case that have been disclosed, Li Tie may be sentenced to more than 10 years in prison or life imprisonment. The five crimes he was involved in must be punished concurrently, and Li Tiehui will pay a heavy price for his criminal acts, and the lesson is very profound.
By the way, some netizens wondered why Li Tie in the feature film didn't cut his hair. During the period of detention, the person under investigation, criminal suspect or defendant will not be forced to cut their hair or even shave their head, and it will be determined according to the actual situation, but for the sake of hygiene and ease of management, haircuts will generally be arranged. Judging from the film, Li Tie's appearance should be during the investigation, and there is no requirement to shave his head.
The power of the Football Association is too centralized.
Leave room for corruption.
Governor: According to CCTV and other reports, after the national football team arrived in Doha recently, in addition to normal preparations and adjustments, there will also be a special anti-corruption film, and on the 10th, there was news that employees of the Chinese Football Association should write at least 1,500 words of reflections. After the era of Jinyuan football, with the purification of the soil in football, how can Chinese football get back on track? What does this require of football practitioners?
Wang Yang:The behavior of Li Tie and others involved in the case has smeared the national football team, making the image of the national football team with "poor level but not bad" in the hearts of fans even worse. In the future, the image restoration and rebranding of the national team will be a long and difficult process, which requires the joint efforts of internal and external linkage.
It is reported that within the Football Association this time, the players and coaches of several "national brand" teams have written their feelings after watching, which can be regarded as a kind of "self-purification" within the Football Association. This is like a perennial unattended, loss-making restaurant, the operation is already so bad, the dishes are not fried, the dishes, chopsticks, tables and chairs are also dilapidated, if you don't sweep the floor clean, there will only be one way to close the door in the future.
Governor: The feature film pointed out that the league management has not been divided for a long time, and the Football Association has both supervision and organization, and the power is too centralized, which brings great risks. Regulators have also become "hunted", kidnapped by the club and the capital behind the club, and have given up the right to supervise the football industry. How to achieve the separation of management and management and better promote the development of the Chinese Football League?
Wang Yang:In 2017, the Football Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sports of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Football Association have completed the separation of management and management. However, since we have not yet formed a professional league like the Premier League and La Liga, the Football Association still has more power over the Chinese Super League than ordinary shareholders, not only supervision and service, but also decision-making power. This provides the basis for corruption.
Chen Xuyuan has been prosecuted at present, and the crime involved in the case is **, and the time span is very long. The feature film revealed that he received tens of millions of yuan in money from many clubs, which far exceeded the "anti-counterfeiting and anti-gang" in 2009, which was relatively heavy among the people involved in this fall.
Someone calculated that Chen Xuyuan was elected chairman of the Chinese Football Association on August 22, 2019, and was officially announced to be investigated on February 14, 2023, and his working time in the Chinese Football Association was 1272 days. If Chen Xuyuan's ** amount during his work in the Football Association is more than 10 million, according to this time, Chen Xuyuan "earns more than 10,000 yuan of stolen money every day".
To promote the development of the Chinese Football League, in the future, it is definitely necessary to continue to promote the professional league, so that the work of the Football Association can focus on youth training, football population expansion, policy formulation, national team training, women's football security, etc.
Peng XinlinThe former secretary of the party committee and the former chairman of the Football Association were "hunted", and behind the fact that they used the convenience of their positions to help clubs and coaches obtain improper benefits. The problem of corruption and unhealthy practices in football is closely related to the dereliction of duty and responsibility of the Football Association and the failure to carry out effective supervision, and also reflects the problem of excessive concentration of power and lack of effective supervision and control.
The root cause of the separation of management and management lies in the fact that the power of the Football Association is too centralized, both organizing and supervising, acting as both athletes and referees, and the responsibilities of scheduling and relegation access are all in the Football Association. From a legal point of view, if power is too concentrated and there is no effective supervision and restraint, it is easy to leave room for black-box operations, which will breed corruption.
Promoting the separation of management and management is to build a supervision and restraint mechanism for the operation of power scientifically and effectively, scientifically allocate power, and make the power structure more reasonable. From the perspective of system building, I believe that this is a fundamental policy to effectively curb the spread of corruption in football. With the decomposition and checks and balances of power as the core, further reform and improve the power structure of the Football Association, and form a pattern with reasonable structure, scientific allocation, and effective constraints, should be the direction of future efforts.
For example, such an important business as league management should be completed by two or more departments or organizations with mutual constraints, and the exchange and rotation of key positions in these key departments should be carried out in a timely manner to prevent the occurrence of insider control, especially to prevent the top leader from becoming a "hegemon".
Promoting the "three non-corruptions" as a whole, of which "no corruption" is to take effective measures to improve the relevant systems and mechanisms, plug the loopholes in the system, put power in the cage of the system, and do not leave a secret door and space for corrupt behaviors.
Sports anti-corruption "cannot be merciful".
Put forward higher requirements for "not daring to be corrupt".
Governor: On January 8, at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th National Commission for Discipline Inspection, the General Secretary delivered an important speech, clearly proposing the "Nine Points", emphasizing the need to continue to maintain a high-pressure posture of punishing corruption. In the face of the still grim and complicated situation, we must never turn back, slacken, or show mercy in the fight against corruption, and we must always blow the trumpet of the charge. What does it mean to be "unmerciful" in the fight against corruption in football and sports?
Peng XinlinMy understanding is that we must maintain a high-pressure anti-corruption posture, that is, we have put forward new and higher requirements from the aspect of "not daring to be corrupt".
In the anti-corruption struggle in the new era, it is necessary to continue to exert efforts and advance in depth, and "dare not be corrupt" is the foundation. It is necessary to continue to increase pressure, maintain a zero-tolerance policy, and always have a high-pressure punishment force, especially against those who do not rein in and do not stop.
Efforts should be made to "dare not be corrupt", including the overall use of effective methods such as precise supervision, discipline and accountability, and special governance for investigation and handling of cases, so that leading cadres of the Football Association, clubs and other practitioners dare not be corrupt because of awe, and dare not commit criminal acts such as bribery because of deterrence. "No mercy" in football is more aimed at corrupt elements, that is, "no mercy" for those corrupt phenomena and unhealthy trends.
From the perspective of promoting the "three non-corruptions" as a whole, in addition to "not daring to be corrupt", it is also necessary to emphasize "not being corrupt" and "not wanting to be corrupt". The fight against corruption is a systems project, and it is necessary to persist in systematic management and full-cycle management. The "three non-corruptions" are mutually reinforcing organic wholes, "not daring to be corrupt" is the premise, emphasizing the role of punishment and deterrence, "not being corrupt" emphasizes more on systems and supervision, and "not wanting to be corrupt" focuses more on education and self-discipline. To effectively deal with corruption and unhealthy trends in the field of football, it is necessary to form a complete closed loop of case handling, governance, supervision, and education in accordance with the fundamental principle of promoting the "three non-corruptions" as a whole, so as to achieve both the symptoms and the root causes of corruption in the field of football.
In short, the problem of corruption in the field of sports is repetitive and stubborn, and "freezing three feet is not a day's cold", and some institutional malpractices, institutional obstacles, and loopholes that breed corruption have not been effectively eliminated, and some deep-seated problems have not yet been fundamentally solved. The existence of these phenomena and problems fundamentally determines that in order to solve the problem of corruption in the field of sports, we must persevere and unremittingly grasp it.
*: Governor of Chang'an Street WeChat***Reporter Meng Jiang Wang Yang.
Process edit: u022