Jin Xiaoguang (center right) and Chen Gang (center left), lawyers for former Chinese Football Association deputy chief Xie Yalong are surrounded by reporters during a court recess yesterday in Dandong, Liaoning Province.

The trial of?the former deputy chief of the Chinese Football Association Xie Yalong took a dramatic?turn yesterday as the ex soccer boss withdrew his?confession over charges of bribery, claiming that his admission?was extracted by torture.

The 56-year-old Xie withdrew his confessions and denied most of the accusations when he appeared before the Intermediate People's Court in Dandong, Liaoning Province yesterday. Xie's lawyer Jin Xiaoguang said they had applied to the court to exclude evidence obtained illegally, according to reports from Shanghai Daily.

"Xie confessed the accusations so he could live," Jin told reporters during a court recess. "He confessed so that he could have the chance to stand in court and tell the truth to his family, letting his son know what kind of man he is."

Xie claimed that during his interrogation he was given electric shocks, was slapped and had water poured over him while he was naked.

He also said that, to force him to confess, officials held his wife after she had visited him.

The former soccer chief has been charged with taking over 1.7 million yuan (about $273,000) in bribes, according to the court documents as the second round of trials on soccer corruption opened on Tuesday morning.

Xie has been the highest ranked former soccer official to face justice, and his successor Nan Yong set to go on trial on Wednesday in another northeastern city of Tieling in Liaoning province.

During the two-year-long national-wide crackdown on soccer corruption, dozens of high-ranking soccer officials, referees and players have been brought down.