In what would be a precedent-setting move, legal action could be taken against referees accused of taking bribes in matches of the 2001 Chinese Football League, a senior sports official said.
Under mounting public pressure, Yan Shiduo, executive vice-chairman of the China Football Association, which manages referees for the league, said yesterday that the association is determined to thoroughly investigate and severely punish these "black whistles."
Yan added that if necessary the association will invite judicial bodies to judge the case.
The scandals erupted last October and December when Li Shufu, president of Jili Football Club in Guangzhou, and Song Weiping, president of Lucheng Football Club in Zhejiang Province, admitted that their clubs had bribed referees during league games.
The two cases immediately garnered public attention, and soon after a referee reportedly sent Lucheng Club a public letter of repentance and returned a bribe of 40,000 yuan (US$4,900) he had accepted.
Lucheng Club disclosed the letter to the public, without naming the referee, and said it was ready to face criminal charges for bribery.
Song and Chen Peide, director of the Sports Bureau of Zhejiang, said that they had more evidence that at least seven referees were involved in taking bribes in 2001.
Song and Chen have reportedly turned part of the evidence over to the Chinese Football Association. But up to now, neither the club nor the association has handed evidence over to procuratorial organs.
Legal experts have been examining the scope of the Criminal Law and debating whether or not taking bribes violates the existing law.
The Criminal Law on bribery comprises two clauses. But violators must be either those working for government departments, institutions or state-owned enterprises, or people in private enterprises or companies. Neither of these categories appears directly applicable to this case.
Some experts argue that the referees are neither civil servants nor employees of private enterprises, so they cannot be charged with the offence in a court of law. They can only be punished by the Chinese Football Association.
But the majority of law experts insist that the referees provide a public service, and thus their actions are punishable according to Criminal Law.
(China Daily January 7, 2002)
