China relegates two top teams over match-fixing

China's football authorities have decided to relegate two top teams from the Chinese Super league after finding them guilty of match-fixing, state media said on Monday, DPA reported.

A Chinese Football Association (CFA) disciplinary commission recommended the relegation of Guangzhou Pharmaceutical and Chengdu Blades, who are owned by English second-tier side Sheffield United, the Shanghai Daily and other media said.

The commission also recommended the indefinite suspension of second-division team Qingdao Hailifeng from all competition, the newspaper quoted an unidentified member of the commission as saying.

If they are ratified by the CFA and China's sports ministry, the punishments for the three clubs will be the heaviest so far in China's scandal-plagued football leagues.

The disciplinary commission member said it was "only a matter of time" until the penalties were imposed since "police investigations had discovered solid evidence of the three clubs being involved in the fixing of matches".

No teams were identified to replace the Chengdu Blades and Guangzhou Pharmaceutical for the new season, which is scheduled to begin next month, potentially reducing the Chinese Super League to just 14 teams.

But organizers were unwilling to continue the Chinese Super League if it became so small, the newspaper said.

Many fans of the Qingdao team complained that their lower league team was treated more harshly than the other two teams accused of similar offences, it said.

The punishments come amid a growing investigation into match-fixing that has already implicated the former head of the Chinese Football Association and two other senior officials.

Police have detained dozens of 20 people, including several players and officials, over the last three months.

Chinese football has been badly affected by crowd trouble, gambling and match-fixing allegations for at least a decade.

Allegations of corruption in Chinese football have driven fans away and many of those who continue to go to matches often chant "black whistle" every time a referee makes a dubious decision in favour of an opposing team.

In the highest-profile case, in 2003 a Beijing court sentenced former international football referee Gong Jianping to 10 years in prison after convicting him of accepting bribes.