Former Chinese soccer chief charged with taking 1.72 million in bribes

Dandong, Liaoning Province: Former Chinese Football Association (CFA) chief Xie Yalong has been charged with taking 1.7 million Yuan (about 273,000 U.S. dollars) bribes as a northeastern Chinese court opened the second round of trials on soccer corruption on Tuesday morning.

The 56-year-old Xie, who had been the CFA chief for three years before handing the job to Nan Yong, faces 12 counts of bribe-taking totaling 1,727,800 Yuan at Dandong Intermediate People`s Court. Nan Yong will also stand trial on bribe-taking charges in a different court in Liaoning Province on Wednesday. Xie`s attorney Jin Xiaohui told the Chinese portal Sina that the former soccer head had denied "parts of the charges" against him in the court. Xie and Nan are the highest-ranking officials caught in China`s ever-widening crackdown on soccer corruption, which has brought down dozens of high-ranking soccer officials, referees and players. Four former Chinese internationals - Shen Si, Qi Hong, Jiang Jin and Li Ming - will be tried on bribe-taking charges on Wednesday in Shenyang, Liaoning`s provincial capital. (ANI)