|
A former Chinese soccer chief stood trial on Wednesday on 17 counts of taking bribes during his term. Nan Yong, former director of the Chinese Football Administrative Center, was in court in Tieling, in Northeast China's Liaoning province, accused of accepting 1.48 million yuan ($235,000) in bribes. The trial followed Tuesday's court proceedings against Nan's predecessor, Xie Yalong, on similar charges. Xie, 56, was charged with accepting more than 1.7 million yuan in bribes from 1998 to 2008. At Tuesday's hearing, Xie denied some of the charges and claimed he had been tortured into confessing in the detention house. Nan and Xie are the highest-ranking officials to be prosecuted in China's crackdown on corruption in soccer, which has brought down dozens of officials, referees, club owners and players. Nan, 50, who became deputy chairman of the Chinese Football Association 15 years ago, played a key role in China's sole appearance in World Cup finals, hiring Serbian coach Bora Milutinovic despite opposition. He was arrested in March 2010 with his associates, Yang Yimin and Zhang Jianqiang, who were convicted in bribery trials in February. Yang was sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in prison, and Zhang to 12 years. Before his arrest, Nan once told reporters that there would be no hope for Chinese soccer if the government did nothing to stop game-fixing and corruption. | 
