Li Tie, a former player for English Premier League side Everton Football Club, has been sentenced to life in prison for corruption in China.
The 46-year-old, who made just forty appearances in his four years with the Merseyside club and managed the China national team between 2019 and 2021, confessed he paid a staggering £330,000 to manage the senior national team of China after the Chinese public prosecutor began to sound the alarm bells.
“I’m very sorry,” Li said in a televised statement. “I should have kept my head to the ground and followed the right path. There were certain things that, at the time, were common practices in football.
By gaining ‘success’ through such improper means, it actually made me more and more impatient and eager for quick results.
In order to achieve a good performance, I resorted to influencing referees, bribing opposing players and coaches, and sometimes through clubs dealing with other clubs,” Li Tie continued.
