File photo of Li Tie. [Photo/Xinhua]

The former head coach of China's national men's football team, Li Tie, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for giving and receiving bribes.

The sentence was handed down by the Intermediate People's Court of Xianning in Hubei Province, central China, on Friday.

The former head coach, born in 1977, was placed under investigation in November 2022 and stood trial in March this year.

According to the indictment, from 2019 to 2021, Li, leveraging his positions as the head coach of both the national team and the national selection team, assisted relevant organizations and individuals in matters such as player selection for the national team, match outcomes, and signing contracts with clubs. He illegally received more than 50.89 million yuan (about 7 million U.S. dollars) in total during this period.

He was also charged with multiple bribery offenses committed from 2015 to 2019 when he worked for local football clubs.

The investigation into Li's case in late 2022 unfolded a sweeping anti-corruption campaign within China's football sector, involving over 10 high- and mid-ranking figures including Chen Xuyuan and Du Zhaocai.

In March, Chen, former president of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), was sentenced to life in prison for bribery.

Du, former deputy head of the General Administration of Sport of China, stood trial on charges of accepting bribes in August.

Earlier this week, courts in Hubei handed down sentences to three other former CFA officials after convicting them of bribery. 

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