FIFA Won’t Punish Korean Player Accused of Match-Fixing in China

Soccer’s world governing body, FIFA, has refused to recognize the “global” life ban handed by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) to South Korean defensive midfielder Son Jun-ho for match-fixing.

The defensive midfielder, who denies the allegations, was one of 43 players and officials banned from the sport following a widespread investigation by Chinese authorities into corruption and match-fixing. Some 120 matches were implicated in the investigation, which involved 128 criminal suspects and 41 teams, according to Chinese officials at the time.

Confession ‘Coerced’

Son, 32, played for Chinese Super League team Shandong Taishan and featured in three of South Korea’s four matches at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

He was detained by Chinese authorities in May 2023 as he tried to leave the country and accused of participating in “illegal transactions, manipulating football matches, and obtaining illegal gains to seek unlawful benefits.” He was held in a detention center for 10 months, where he claims he was coerced into confessing to the charges.

The Chinese police presented ridiculous charges,” Son said during a tearful press conference in Seoul in September, as reported and translated by the Associated Press. “They threatened that if I didn’t admit to the charges, my wife would be arrested through the foreign ministry and brought to the same detention center to be investigated with me.”

Son claimed that he eventually admitted to charges he did not fully understand just so he could be reunited with his family.

Insufficient Evidence

The Korean Football Association (KFA) said this week it had received an official notice from FIFA that the request by the CFA to expand Son Jun-ho’s disciplinary action worldwide had been rejected for insufficient evidence.

“Since the request to expand the disciplinary action internationally has been rejected, [it] will only be effective in China for the time being. Accordingly, Son Jun-ho can now register for not only domestic K-League teams but also overseas leagues excluding the Chinese league,” the KFA said.

In 2015, President Xi Jinping declared his ambition to revive the fortunes of the national team and one day lift the World Cup. But despite billions being poured into the game, the team has gone backward since then. There are concerns that innocent players are getting caught up in overzealous efforts to root out corruption.