The new Chinese Super League season has officially started today, and from the start it looks like it could be one of the strangest seasons in the world of football this year.
More than half of the teams, exactly 9 out of 16, start the season with negative points due to violations related to match-fixing, gambling and corruption.
In January of this year, Chinese authorities announced major sanctions: a total of 73 people were banned for life from working in Chinese football, while 13 clubs from the two highest professional leagues were punished with points deductions before the start of the season.
The most affected are Shanghai Shenhua and Tianjin Jinmen Tiger, who each lost 10 points due to violations.
The 2025 champions, Shanghai Port, as well as teams Beijing Guoan and Zhejiang, were each penalized 5 points.
Even lower-tier clubs, such as Changchun Yatai and Meizhou Hakka, which were relegated from the Super League last season, received penalties of four and three points respectively.
In addition to having points deducted, all punished clubs were also penalized financially, with fines ranging from 200,000 to 1 million yuan (around 21,000 to 105,000 euros).
These sanctions, including lifetime bans, are a consequence of historical violations dating back to 2012.
Among those who received life bans are former Chinese national team coach Li Tie, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for corruption in December 2024, former Chinese Football Association president Chen Xuyuan, who is serving a life sentence for bribery, and former Chinese international Wang Dong, a 2007 Super League champion with Changchun Yatai, who also played for Chongqing Lifan, Tianjin TEDA and Qingdao Huanghai during his career.
These measures caused a stir in Chinese football and attracted international media attention.
With more than half of the teams starting the season with negative points, the 2026 season promises an extremely unpredictable race for the title and survival.