Lie Tie, Mantan Pelatih China Ditahan Aparat Keamanan, Terkait Dugaan Korupsi?

JAKARTA - In the midst of the bustle of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, shocking news came from China. Former coach of the country's national football team, Li Tie was detained by local officials. There is no official explanation regarding the 45-year-old man's detention who has played in the Premier League with Everton in the 2002 to 2006 season and Shefield United (2006-2008). China's official media monitored from Beijing on Saturday, November 26 only mentions Li in a legal investigation into serious violations of the law.

In November 2021, Antara reported that a Chinese netizen identified as a lawyer posted a status on Weibo, China-style Twitter, which had reported Li to the Central Committee for the Disciplinary Inspection of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) for alleged corruption related to the salary he received.

The netizen's report came after China drew 1-1 against Australia in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. However, until the issue rolled out there was no response or any statement from the China Football Association (CFA).

Li Tie was appointed by CFA on January 2, 2020 to handle the Chinese national team replacing the Italian coach Marcello Lippi.CFA appointed Li as a form of local pride because at that time the name of Brazilian coach, Felipe Scolari, had led top Chinese Super League (CSL) Guangzhou Evergrande to several trophies.Lippi resigned suddenly after the Chinese national team fell to its knees 1-2 from Syria in the same qualifying round. Apart from Lippi, there were two other Italian coaches, namely Fabio Capello and Fabio Cannavaro, who had handled the Chinese national team. However, the achievements of the Chinese men's soccer team in the regional and international arena were not boosted at all.