[sports]Soccer-Chinese club sacks eight after 6-0 defeat
Posted:2007-4-6|Source:Reuters|No. of Views:
BEIJING, April 5 (Reuters) - Chinese second division club Harbin Yiteng has sacked their coach and seven players on suspicion of match-fixing after a 6-0 defeat last weekend, local media reported on Thursday.
In the opening match of the season on April 1, newly promoted Harbin were thrashed by Chengdu Blades -- a club owned by Sheffield United of the English Premier League.
Coach Wang Hongli was handed his cards immediately after the match and the seven players followed him out of the door on Monday, Soccer News said.
"If we play as well as we can then even the national team couldn't beat us 6-0," club chief executive Cui Hua told the paper.
"It was an unnatural match. We need a team that is definitely pure. We will not allow any corruption."
Cui said if the players could "prove their innocence" he was prepared to discuss their situation.
Chinese soccer has been bedevilled by allegations of corruption in recent years. The "black whistles" scandal resulted in a 10-year prison sentence for referee Gong Jianping in 2003.
