BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Football Association (CFA) on Thursday announced the third batch of sanctions related to match-fixing, gambling and other misconduct in Chinese football, handing lifetime bans to 17 individuals and imposing an additional six-point deduction on Meizhou Hakka Football Club.

File photo by Chinese Football Association

According to the CFA, 17 persons convicted by Chinese courts were suspended for life from any football-related activities, while 48 other practitioners received bans of five years or less for serious violations of industry discipline. The punishments were determined based on factors such as the nature of their misconduct, the amount of money involved, the frequency of violations and the degree of malicious intent.

The CFA also announced that second-tier (China League One) club Meizhou Hakka would be deducted an additional six points in the 2026 season and fined 800,000 yuan (117,600 U.S. dollars).

"Based on newly obtained criminal court judgment materials, Meizhou Hakka Football Club was discovered to have been involved in other serious violations of regulations and discipline," the CFA said in a statement.

Among those receiving lifetime bans were former Shenzhen Football Club general manager Ding Yong, former Inner Mongolia Zhongyou Football Club general manager Shi Yaoyong, and former Meizhou Hakka Football Club general manager Cao Yang.

Those suspended for five years or less included former Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club general manager Gao Han, former Guangzhou R&F Football Club vice chairman Huang Shenghua, former Shandong Taishan Football Club general manager Sun Hua, former Beijing Guoan Football Club general manager Li Ming, former Zhejiang Greentown Football Club general manager Jiao Fengbo, and former Henan Jianye Football Club general manager Guo Guangqi.

The CFA urged clubs, member associations and football practitioners to "draw profound lessons from these cases, remain vigilant at all times, respect rules and bottom lines, and resolutely eliminate match-fixing, gambling and other improper transactions that undermine fair competition."

The CFA had previously released two batches of disciplinary sanctions in September 2024 and January 2026, with more than 100 individuals receiving lifetime bans and over 10 clubs being fined.