Soccer chief: "Zero tolerance" towards officials involved in corruption

Top soccer officials attending the National People's Congress say they're serious about the ongoing anti-corruption campaign.

The Director of the Chinese Soccer Association, Wei Di, says they will have "zero tolerance" towards officials involved, no matter how high ranking they are on. They will probe into what he calls "ugly and corrupt" behavior. The sports officials also acknowledge the crucial role police departments have played in the last few months. Working closely with them, the top soccer leaders are determined to rid the country of match fixing and other forms of corruption.

Cui Dalin, deputy director of Central Administration of Sport, said, "There have been deep-rooted problems in the Chinese soccer system. Actually we heard of match-fixing scandals long ago. Some people reported it to us, and we did investigate. But without the involvement of the police department, our probe was not very effective. For example, I knew something was wrong with the match where a player on the Qingdao team purposefully scored an own goal. But that player confessed nothing to our investigators. But when the police became involved, he admitted everything."