Nan Yong is taken to the court by police on Wednesday. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese Football Association (CFA) chief Wei Di has warned against a "rebound in corruption" as his predecessor Nan Yong appeared in court Wednesday for allegedly accepting bribes.

In an interview with the Xinhua News Agency, Wei said that corruption could still exist in soccer despite repeated efforts to root out the "tumor" with a high-profile crackdown that has exposed dozens of high-ranking soccer officials, referees and players over the past two years.

Nan Yong, former executive deputy chairman of the CFA, arrested in 2010, went on trial Wednesday in Tieling, Northeast China's Liaoning Province. He was charged with 17 counts of taking bribes worth nearly 1.49 million yuan ($235,000).

The trial came a day after court proceedings opened against Nan's predecessor Xie Yalong on similar charges, during which Xie said his confession was the result of "torture" and denied most of the charges.

Li Dongsheng, former head of the CFA's referee committee, faced charges of embezzlement and bribery worth 790,000 yuan in another court in Liaoning Wednesday. Li also denied some of the accusations, questioning the process of evidence collection and interrogation, Sina.com.cn reported.

Shen Si, Jiang Jin, Qi Hong and Li Ming, former players for the national team, also stood trial in Shenyang for allegedly taking 8 million yuan in bribes to throw the final game of the 2002-03 domestic season.

Liu Xiaoxin, chief editor of the Guangzhou-based newspaper Soccer News, told the Global Times the crackdown on corruption has been effective over the past two years.

"It is critical to reduce corruption through supervision both within and out of the system," Liu said. "A set of regulations should be drafted to deter people from corruption."

According to Wei, the CFA and the police have established a joint anti-corruption mechanism.

"We are also considering joining hands with the international football association FIFA and the international police organization INTERPOL," said Wei.

Wei noted that the CFA will further clarify the duties of each department, separate the functions and weaken the power of the organization's leaders.

Xinhua contributed to this story

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