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Referee reveals price of victory

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A TV grab of a China Central Television (CCTV) report on the soccer referees' corruption case shows Lu Jun, former top referee of the Chinese Football League (CSL) appears on court on Dec.19, 2011. [Photo/sports.sina.com.cn]

Two top referees and a former club manager appeared in court yesterday on the second day of trials over corruption in Chinese soccer.

Referees Huang Junjie and Zhou Weixin were accused of taking bribes, with Zhou facing an additional count of bribery when they appeared at the Intermediate People's Court of Dandong in northeastern Liaoning Province.

Huang, who is from Shanghai and has been a referee for more than 20 years, admitted the charges.

He was one of three nominees for the title of 2009's top referee, although he made a series of controversial rulings that season.

Huang took bribes a total of 20 times from 2005 to 2009 from several clubs. He is also said to have taken bribes from Zhou.

The total amount of money involved was nearly 1.6 million yuan (US$252,115), prosecutors said.

Huang was often called for help before matches and money would be transferred to a bank account after the matches.

The Changchun Yatai club, prosecutors said, offered Huang 50,000 yuan for a draw and 50,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan for a win.

Huang was bribed 10 times in the Chinese Super League from 2005 to 2009 by the club, and helped it to seven wins and three draws. He was paid 640,000 yuan for those matches, the court heard.

Huang did not always help Changchun, however. In a key match in 2007, Huang helped Henan Jianye defeat Changchun 3-2 to avoid relegation. He was paid 150,000 yuan.

Like Huang, Zhou, whose lawyer entered a not guilty plea, was known for controversial and sometimes wrong decisions.

During a Chinese Super League match between Beijing Guo'an and Shenyang Jinde in 2004, Zhou gave Shenyang a penalty in the second half, sparking furious protests from Beijing's players and coaches. The Beijing side refused to continue and left the pitch. Zhou awarded the match to Shenyang.

The Chinese Football Association later slapped an eight-match ban on Zhou for his "misjudgment."

Zhou bribed Huang twice so he could win bets, prosecutors said. In a friendly between Manchester United and Shenzhen Shangqingyin in 2007, Zhou is alleged to have paid Huang HK$100,000 (US$12,846) to let Shenzhen kick off first.

In another friendly between Sydney FC and Shanghai Shenhua, Zhou called Huang to tell him to let the match have at least three goals so Zhou could win a bet, prosecutors said. Shenhua was 0-1 behind in the first half but came back to win 2-1.

Meanwhile, Wang Po, former general manager of Shaanxi Guoli, stood trial on charges of bribe-taking and fraud at the Intermediate People's Court of Tieling in Liaoning Province.

Wang, a former police officer, became general manager of Shaanxi Guoli in 2003. He moved the club to Ningbo in Zhejiang Province in 2004 and to Harbin in Heilongjiang Province in 2005 before it was disqualified from the league for failing to pay players' wages.

Wang then became general manager of Tibet Huitong in late 2005, moved the club to Taiyuan in Shanxi Province, and changed the club's name to Shanxi Wellsend in 2006.

Wang, the court was told, used his position to take bribes to fix matches and also bet on matches involving his team.

Also standing trial at the same court were 19 others, most of them club officials and players.