Overview

• Li Tie, former national football coach and Premier League player, was convicted of taking and giving over 110 million yuan in bribes between 2015 and 2021.
• The Hubei Provincial Higher People's Court dismissed his appeal, confirming the 20-year sentence handed down in December 2024 by a lower court.
• Li had pleaded guilty to the charges during a trial in March 2024, marking one of the heaviest penalties in China's anti-corruption crackdown on sports.
• The case is part of President Xi Jinping's intensified campaign against corruption in sports, which began targeting football in 2022.
• Li's career spanned from playing for Everton and representing China in the 2002 World Cup to coaching the national team from 2020 to 2021.