(Ecns.cn)--Lu Jun, the best-known Chinese soccer referee who once officiated at the World Cup, has confessed in court to receiving bribes to fix matches.
He stood trial on Wednesday morning in Dandong, Northeast China's Liaoning Province, where he admitted to taking a total of 810,000 yuan ($128,000) in bribes to fix seven China League One matches from 1999 to 2003, according to CCTV's report.
In one case, Lu allegedly accepted 350,000 yuan ($55,300) from Shanghai Shenhua FC for favoring it in a match on Nov. 9, 2003. The team went on to win the championship that year.
Dozens of Lu's fans waited outside the courtroom to catch a glimpse of their fallen idol.
Cai Yutian, 55, from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, switched shifts and took a nine-hour train ride to Dandong. He had hoped to sit in on the trial, but there wasn't enough space in the courtroom.
As a loyal fan, Cai has all the matches refereed by Lu Jun at his fingertips. He said his support and admiration for the referee would not change a bit, even if Lu was proven guilty.
"We all make mistakes. He deserves forgiveness if he can correct his mistakes. I'll always be on his side," said Cai.
If found guilty, Lu could face up to 15 years in prison. Cai said he would definitely visit Lu in prison if it was permitted.
Once dubbed the "golden whistle," Lu was the first Chinese referee to officiate at the World Cup. He supervised two matches at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, one between Croatia and Mexico in Niigata, and another between Poland and the United States in Daejeon.
He was also the first Chinese member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFP) referee committee. The AFP awarded him the title of Best Asian Referee in 1998 and 2004.
Born in Beijing in 1959, Lu embarked on his career as a soccer referee in 1978 when he entered Beijing Sport University (known then as the Beijing Sport Institute). One year later China resumed its membership of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), and Lu's tutor, Cao Jingjian, became one of the first generation of international referees in China – a considerable encouragement to Lu.
Lu acquired the qualification of international referee in 1991. From then on he frequently appeared in international games, including the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup in Guangzhou and the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
He had also officiated at more than 200 top level matches in China till he announced his retirement in 2005.
Questions about Lu's professional ethics first emerged in a match between Guangzhou Matsunichi FC and Dalian Wanda FC in 1998. Yangcheng Sport, a newspaper based in Guangzhou, published an article suspecting Lu of taking bribes from the latter team. Lu sued the paper for libel and won the case.
Lu was detained in March 2010 following a nationwide crackdown on gambling and match-fixing in the soccer industry. Angry soccer fans changed his byname from "golden whistle" to "black whistle" to voice their disappointment in him and in Chinese soccer as a whole.
A number of other officials, referees and players have also been detained for their involvement in corruption and match-fixing in soccer games, including Nan Yong, former vice-president of the Chinese Football Association, and his predecessor Xie Yalong.
