China warns sports establishment must root out corruption after sector hit by graft scandals
Win-at-all-costs mentality must also be rooted out to curb abuses in system, says anti-corruption agency
China’s sports establishment must learn the lessons from a corruption scandal involving a former deputy sports minister, continue to root out graft and curb a win-at-all costs mentality, the country’s top graft-buster said on Friday.
Corruption in international sport is in focus due to US and Swiss probes into soccer’s world governing body, Fifa, as well as doping scandals that have rocked tennis and athletics.
China to prosecute ex-deputy sports minister and Olympics committee member for graft
China, which is aggressively seeking to stamp out graft in Communist Party and government ranks, has also sought to eject corrupt elements from its sports establishment, particularly within soccer, which has been hit by match-fixing scandals.
We must clearly recognise the many challenges facing the development of our sports industry and that the problems which exist should not be overlooked
China was hit by two new sports graft scandals last year, with probes into deputy sports minister Xiao Tian, who sat on China’s Olympics committee, and another into the country’s then-volleyball chief.
In a statement released following a meeting on learning the lessons from Xiao’s case, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said the sports sector needed to do more to tackle graft and not rest on its laurels.
“At the same time as fully affirming successes, we must clearly recognise the many challenges facing the development of our sports industry and that the problems which exist should not be overlooked,” the commission’s team based in the sports ministry said.
“Put effort into resolving all the problems that come from putting the winning of gold above all else that distorts the spirit of sports,” it said.