Chinese Football Association
19 February 2013. Shanghai Shenhua was found guilty of match fixing in a probe by the Chinese Football Association (CFA). It was found that the club paid a bribe to officials of £103,000 to fix a game during a season in 2003 in which it won the league title with a score of 4-1. The club was stripped of its title after the probe. The association also banned 33 people for life and another 25 for five years. The observers say that these measures are inadequate to deter corruption in football as ever more money was flowing into the sport. Shanghai Shenhua was also fined one million yuan (S$198,283) and received a six demerit points for the new Chinese Super League season starting next month, as was Tianjin Teda. Many social media users said that CFA itself was the source of corruption and scandals. Shanghai Shenhua appeared to turn a corner when it took in high profile foreign players, among them Drogba and Nicolas Anelka.But both players have since left the club, with Drogba going to Turkish league leaders Galatasaray in disputed circumstances and Anelka signing for Juventus on loan. China’s top leagues are bankrolled by cash-rich business titans willing to pay top salaries to lure foreign talent.
