Manager held in soccer probe

POLICE in eastern China have detained a football club manager in the nationwide crackdown on soccer betting that has involved several executives and officials from the football association.

The man identified by the police as "L" was detained yesterday, one year after he left the club Hailifeng of Qingdao in Shandong Province. Some officials suspected involved in the club's business are also under investigation, Modern Express reported yesterday.

Hailifeng came under the spotlight after a notorious match with a Sichuan team when the club's players attempted several times to score on their own goalkeeper.

Though suspected of trying to manipulate the match result, the club's managers argued that the team was winning at the second half of the game and the "seeming shootings" were only return passes.

Some of these unnamed managers and executives were also taken by the police to assist their investigation. Several others have fled out of the country, the report said.

Yet the police said they are not investigating the club's "friendly fire case."

All of those under investigation are related to the alleged 2005-2006 football gambling syndicate, said an unnamed insider.

The insider said Hailifeng has played seven years in the second tier professional league for Chinese football clubs, and its performance has been confusing for years.

The club has always been considered one of top seeded teams at the beginning of the season, yet their performances routinely collapse at the season's second half.

The "friendly fire case" this year agitated public demand for a thorough investigation of the club's possible involvement in gambling.

In 2006, all the coaches of the club quit because of a disagreement with the managers.

A former player named Zhang Yifei in 2005 was even reported to have been hamstrung after a match.

Managers of the club were suspected of being involved, according to ESPNSTAR.

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