Twisted souls in twisted matches

A Class-A or second division football club is to appeal after the Chinese Football Association revoked its license for match fixing. But police say they have enough evidence to prove the club is far from innocent.

Football fans call this video the Own-goal Gate. In this popular online clip, Qingdao Hailifeng is playing Sichuan Zhigu in the 18th match in the 2009 Class-A league. If Qingdao wins, the victory would guarantee its place in the division.

Police say the president of Qingdao Du Yunqi placed a 60,000 yuan bet on the team's victory on an overseas gambling website. As long as there were no fewer than four goals in the match, Du would profit handsomely.

Eighty minutes into the game, Qingdao was leading 3-0. But it was not good enough for Du.

Du Bin, captain of Qingdao Team, said, "The president called me and instructed me to score another goal."

The captain did his work diligently. Soon the team launched frenzied attacks against its opponent.

YU Xuebing, police investigator, said, "Our records show that the Sichuan players smelt a rat and turned to their coach. The coach said he wouldn't allow Qingdao's plot."

By stopping attacking and retreating to their half, the Qingdao players held their line perfectly in the second half. The deadlock demanded quick wit, a virtue the Qingdao captain happened to have.

Du Bin, captain of Qingdao Team, said,  "I told my team to score an own goal."

However, they hadn't told the goalkeeper who did his job well. As a result, Qingdao's three own goal attempts failed. The final score was three-nil, a victory for the club, but a crushing defeat for its president.

Du Bin, captain of Qingdao Team, said, "Du blamed me for the inability to score a goal, and the public scrutiny afterwards."

To counter the CFA's investigation, Du Yunqi told all his players to give the same answer.

Du Bin, captain of Qingdao Team, said, "We were told to say it was the coach's strategy."

Police discovered that apart from the president, Du Bin and some players had also placed bets and made tens of thousands of yuan. In fact, almost every season, the team would fix matches.

Du Bin, captain of Qingdao Team, said, "We have three to four matches like this a season, mostly losing."

Police say further investigation is still needed to review Qingdao's other misconduct. Further details will be released if enough evidence is found.