SYDNEY FC players did not see anything untoward in a friendly match against Shanghai Shenhua in February 2009. The referee involved recently confessed to a history of match-fixing said Sydney Morning Herald.
Huang Junjie nominated the Sydney-Shanghai exhibition game as one of eight matches he ”fixed” in return for more than $250,000 in bribes.
Huang, who was shortlisted for a refereeing award in 2009, also admitted to receiving money in relation to United’s 6‑0 friendly victory over Shenzhen FC in 2007.
Corruption hearings against some of China’s leading officials began when the former head of the Super League, Zhang Jianqiang, faced charges of accepting match-fixing bribes totalling £260,000.
Another referee, Lu Jun, will stand trial soon while 20 other former officials and referees are scheduled to face the courts at later dates.
The hearings are part of a crackdown on corruption that has reached the top levels of the sport in China and led to the downfall of the head of the Chinese Football Association.
