FORMER Everton star Li Tie has been jailed for life after admitting bribery and match-fixing, according to reports in China.
The bribery allegations relate to Li’s reign as China manager between 2019-21.
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Lie Tie was sentenced to life in prison Credit: Getty
China’s attorney general accused Li of “taking and offering bribes” during their crackdown on football corruption.
And now he has been sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the scandal, reports the author from China Mark Dreyer.
Li, 46, admitted paying £330,000 in bribes to become the manager of the Chinese national team.
He also admitted playing a role in a match-fixing scandal to win promotions while in charge of Hebei China Fortuna and Wuhan Zall.
Li said in a statement: “I am very sorry. I should have kept my head down and followed the right path. There were certain things that were common practice in football at that time.
“Achieving ‘success’ in such inappropriate ways actually made me increasingly impatient and eager for quick results.
“In order to achieve a good result, I resorted to influencing referees, bribing opposing players and coaches, sometimes through clubs that did business with other clubs.
“This behavior becomes a habit, and eventually, there is even a mild addiction to these practices.”
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Li played for Everton between 2002 and 2006 and initially made 33 appearances on loan at the Toffees.
He made a further seven appearances after making the club permanent in 2003 for a fee of £1.2m, before leaving for Sheffield United.
The former China international, who played 92 games for his country, played for the Blades just once before returning to China, joining Chengdu Blades and later Liaoning Whowin.
Li retired in 2011 and took his first managerial job four years later with Hebei China Fortune, winning promotion during his only season in charge.
He then spent three years in charge of Wuhan Zall before becoming the manager of the Chinese national team in 2019, winning six of his 13 games in charge.
The former star was considered by many to be one of his country’s biggest talents when he joined Everton in 2002.
But his playing career was marred by injury after he broke his leg while on international duty with China in 2004.
His now controversial time as boss of his country saw him take over the Dragons as interim manager after Marcello Lippi resigned in 2019.
After just three games in charge of the team he was given the job on a permanent basis until December 2021, overseeing a further 10 games as boss.
In 13 games at the head of the national team, he achieved six wins, two draws and five draws.
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Li was highly regarded in his home country when he moved to the Premier League Credit: AP: Associated Press
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He played against some of the world’s best players during his 92-game international career for ChinaCredit: EPA
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Li was the manager of the Chinese national team from 2019 to 2021. Credit: Getty
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