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Asia chief: China league at brink
The head of Asia's football governing body has warned China the latest in a series of match-fixing and other scandals tarnishing the top professional league threatens the future of the game in the country.
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) general secretary Peter Velappan was reacting to accusations by the sacked head coach of Super League club Shenzhen Jianlibao that "ruffian" players had taken control of the team and fixed games. "The crisis at Shenzhen must be solved urgently, or Chinese football will collapse," Xinhua news agency quoted Velappan as saying in the coastal Chinese city of Qingdao on Thursday. Sacked Shenzhen Jianlibao coach Chi Shangbin's claims were backed up by former interim board chairman Yang Saixin, who quit in protest of Chi's sacking. The Super League defending champions defeated Korea's Suwon Bluewings 1-0 on Wednesday to enter the quarterfinals of the AFC Champions League, the top regional club competition. The China Football Association has acknowledged that corruption is widespread in Chinese football, with gambling often cited as the root cause. Velappan's statements came the same day the AFC vowed to increase vigilance against slipping standards of refereeing across Asia before the final round of the Asian 2006 World Cup qualifiers in August. Cleaning up the professional game in China would take more than improving refereeing, Velappan said. "The Super League is a professional league and it must be run by professionals, not some amateurs. China's football administration needs great upgrading," he was quoted as saying in an overnight report on Thursday. The Super League, set up in 2004 to boost the image of the former Division A games, narrowly headed off a boycott threat in its first season by top clubs after allegations that referees had accepted bribes. The league has since lost its main sponsor, German conglomerate Siemens. This season's kickoff was postponed by a month to allow teams to look for financial backing as they struggled with falling ticket sales from increasingly cynical fans. "We must bring the fans back to the stadium," Velappan was quoted as saying. China's soccer troubles extended beyond the Super League to the national team last year. They lost the Asian Cup final to Japan 3-1 in August, prompting fans in Beijing to hurl bottles, burn Japanese flags and fight police. Earlier in that tournament, Velappan provoked a storm of protest from Chinese fans and the media when he accused spectators in the Chinese capital of being rude and voiced doubts the city could host a successful Olympics in 2008. He ended up apologising for the remarks. Chinese fans were crushed in November 2004 when the national team narrowly missed the cut for Asia's final World Cup qualifiers, leading to the termination of Dutch coach Arie Haan's contract.
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