BEIJING, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Football Association (CFA) announced on Friday that its Dispute Resolution Committee has dismissed appeals of 13 players and match officials, who had faced lifetime or five-year bans from participating in football-related activities.
In September this year, the CFA Discipline Committee revealed that 43 individuals had been banned for life from participating in football-related activities for gambling and match-fixing, while 17 others had received five-year penalties.
"After then, the CFA Dispute Resolution Committee have received a total of 13 appeals for exemption or mitigation of punishment," read a CFA statement on Friday, adding that the committee's collegial panel heard the cases on October 21-22.
"The collegial panel organized both parties to present evidence and fully express their opinions," the statement noted. "After reviewing all the written materials, the panel believed that the procedure made by the CFA Discipline Committee did not violate the 'CFA Disciplinary Code' and the evidence provided by the judicial authorities was sufficient."
"The panel agreed that the penalty decisions made by the CFA Discipline Committee were clear and correct, and therefore, the panel decided to reject the appeal," the statement said.
According to the Law of the People's Republic of China on Sports, if individuals are not satisfied with the decision made by the CFA, they can further apply for arbitration by the China Sports Arbitration Commission. ■
