China jails former national football coach for 20 years for bribery

BEIJING (AP) — The former coach of the Chinese men’s national soccer team Li Tie has received a 20-year prison sentence for bribery. Chinese state media reported Friday that Li, who once played in the English Premier League for Everton, was found guilty of “leveraging his positions” as head coach of the national football and national selection team to receive bribes of more than 50 million yuan (about $7 million), by a court in the city of Xianning in the central Hubei province. Li coached the Chinese men’s team between January 2020 and December 2021. His sentencing is the latest in a series of high-profile corruption cases involving Chinese football figures.