Former Chinese footballers arrested for alleged match-fixing

Chinese police  arrested four former Chinese internationals on suspicion they accepted substantial bribes to throw a league match in 2003, state press said on Saturday.

The players are accused of accepting a total of eight million yuan ($1.25 million) to ensure the now-disbanded Shanghai International lost to Tianjin Teda. The game ended 2-1 to Tianjin.

The daily Shanghai newspaper Xinmin Wanbao said the case came to light after the arrests of former executives of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), including former vice-president Nan Yong.

Zhang Yifeng, the ex-president of Tianjin, was also arrested.

The four players were named as Jiang Jin, Qiu Hong, Shen Si and Li Ming but the newspaper did not say when they were detained.

Dozens of high-ranking Chinese football officials, referees and players have been arrested or jailed as part of a wide-ranging investigation into graft that has blighted the game in the country for years.

Nan Yong and his predecessor at the CFA, Xie Yalong, will stand trial in April, according to Chinese press.