China sentenced former Everton star and national team coach Li Tai to 20 years in prison on bribery charges.
A court in Hubei Province, central the country, said yesterday that Tai was sentenced to “20 years in prison” after he was charged with a series of violations regarding receiving and paying bribes.
The 47-year-old is considered one of the most prominent Chinese names in football, as he assumed the leadership of the first Chinese national team between January 2020 and December 2021, after playing about 100 international matches as a player, and he also had professional experience with Everton in the English Premier League from 2002-2006.
But the Chinese Broadcasting Corporation (CCTV) said that he used his position as coach of the Chinese national team to accumulate about 51 million yuan (seven million US dollars) in bribes, in exchange for selecting players for the national team or helping them sign with clubs.
Tai also asked “others to help him” to become coach of the national team in 2019, and handed over 1 million yuan to unnamed people the following year, according to CCTV.
Tai was also accused of paying millions of dollars in bribes to complete player transfers and fix the results of matches during 2015.
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