Discuss, punish and then try to move on

The 2012 Chinese Super League is set to get off to a smooth start after the Chinese Football Association recently released the coming season's schedule.

Eight CSL clubs that were involved in the domestic bribery scandals, including former league champion Shanghai Shenhua, Shandong Luneng and Changchun Yatai, will be spared relegation this year.

However, final punishment won't be decided by the authorities until after the trials end. Dates have yet to be unveiled.

Amid the debate about the severity of the punishments that should be meted out to the clubs, Dutch coach Arie Haan, who moved to second-tier team Shenyang Shenbei after two years with top-flight squad Tianjin Teda, said it was not necessary to shoot the whole league out of the water.

He said he thinks a "fresh and new" approach is needed for the Chinese soccer leagues.

"The whole thing is that it seems almost everybody was involved. So, what can you do?" said the 63-year-old. "You have to draw a line and say 'It (corruption) is finished. Now things are going to be like this'. You can't remedy all the mistakes you made in the past; that's not possible. All you can do is say, 'It's finished now, let's start anew ... that's it."

Haan said the government's effort to eradicate match-fixing should work as a strong deterrent and keep people clean.

"What they (the government) did was very necessary. Everybody understands it couldn't keep going on like that. So everybody knows now, 'Be careful, it can't happen again," he said. "It's like you punish your child, you can't punish him again for what he did two years ago."

Regarding his move to the second division, the Dutchman, who had been sought by several clubs, said he was attracted by Shenbei's vision and has already set a target of leading the team to the Super League.

"The club and the president want a good team that plays very good soccer. For sure, I want that also, but I want more," said Haan.

"I am used to winning, and I want to win in Shenbei. I have told the players that I didn't come to stay in the second league."

tangzhe@chinadaily.com.cn