Former Everton player ‘sentenced to LIFE in jail’ for corruption and match-fixing after confessing to paying over £300,000 in bribes to earn national team role.

• Li Tie has reportedly been sentenced for life in China after corruption probe  46-year-old elderly former China coach admitted to his misdeeds on national TV
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  Former Everton player Li Tie has reportedly been sentenced to life in jail in his native China for corruption.

  Li played 33 matches for Everton while on loan from Chinese club Liaoning during the 2002-03 season and played seven games the following season after signing permanently.

  The defensive midfielder played briefly for Sheffield United but faced injury concerns after breaking his leg on international duty in February 2004.

  Li, 46, concluded his career in China and served as manager of their national team between 2019 and 2021.

  A year after Li left that role, the Chinese public prosecutor published a surprise statement saying he was ‘suspected of taking and providing bribes’ amid a sweeping crackdown on corruption in sports.

  Li said: ‘I’m terribly sorry. I should have kept my head to the ground and followed the right way. There were certain things that at the time were typical practices in football.’

  China-based reporter and author Mark Dreyer said Li has been sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the affair.

  The former chairman of the Chinese Football Association, Chen Xuyuan, has been given a 15-year term for bribery, Dreyer said.

  Li admitted to successfully rigging matches when coach of Hebei China Fortune and Wuhan Zall. The latter achieved promotion from China League One as champions in 2018.

  He said in his broadcast statement: ‘By attaining ‘success’ through such unlawful means, it actually made me more and more anxious and eager for quick results.

  ‘In order to obtain high performance, I resorted to manipulating referees, bribing opposing players and coaches, sometimes through clubs interacting with other clubs.

  ‘This activity becomes a habit, and eventually, there is even a minor dependence on these activities.’

  Li was regarded as one of the most gifted Chinese footballers of his generation when he signed for Everton in August 2002.

  The loan arrangement for him – and compatriot Li Weifeng – was orchestrated by the now-defunct Chinese telecoms company Keijan, who sponsored Everton at the time.

  Li later became coach of the China national team – but admitted to paying £330,000 in bribery to acquire the post

  Li was a surprising hit at Goodison Park with manager David Moyes playing him often in the Premier League as Everton secured a seventh-place finish.

  That prompted Everton to buy him permanently for £1.2million in August 2003, with two-thirds of the transaction paid for corporate sponsorships.

  Having been sent off against Arsenal on the first day of the season, Li injured his leg while playing for China in February 2004 and never managed to break back into the first team.

  He was released by Everton in 2006 and joined Sheffield United, however he appeared only once for the Blades because of ongoing injury difficulties.

  Li, who played 92 times for China between 1995 and 2007, transferred to Chengdu Blades, who were affiliated to Sheffield United in 2008 and eventually returned to hometown club Liaoning.

  After coaching at club level, he worked as caretaker coach of the China national team after Marcello Lippi resigned in 2019 and was subsequently named permanently.

  In November 2022, it was initially revealed Li had been placed under investigation for ‘severe violation of laws’ by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the anti-corruption body the National Supervisory Commission.

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