Interpol-wanted former player proves linchpin in match-fixing crackdown

SHENYANG, Northeast China, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- An Interpol-wanted former Chinese soccer player became the linchpin of a large-scale investigation into match-fixing and gambling in Chinese soccer, Chinese police said on Wednesday.

Police by far have detained at least four people on suspicion of fixing Chinese professional league matches and gambling.

Among them, Wang Xin, a former player from Liaoning province who later became general manager of Liaoning Guangyuan club, proved a key person for the police to discover more under-the-table deals.

"During the investigation into Wang Xin's match-rigging scheme in Singapore, it was found that he also manipulated domestic matches through commercial bribery," said the police.

Wang Xin was wanted by the Interpol in Singapore in the beginning of this year after he fled the city state when his team's match-fixing scandal in the Singaporean league was exposed.

Wang was caught in Liaoning in April, police said.

Police said Wang Xin, together with former Shanxi club general manager Wang Po, was suspected of manipulating several First Division league matches since 2006.

Also dragged in the match-fixing scandal was current Chinese Super League team Guangzhou Pharmaceutical FC, which was promoted from the First Division in 2007.

The Ministry of Public Security, which heads up the probe, did not reveal how many people had been questioned in the probe or whether big names were involved but said that the investigation was still going on.