Who's hot, who's not in China Sports (Week 37)

Fiasco of Chinese soccer team manipulated by brokerage firm: report

The humiliating 8-0 loss of China's men's national team to their Brazilian counterparts on Monday is a result of match manipulation, said a Netease report.

Brazil's Marcelo (L) and Romulo (R) fight for the ball with China's Liu Jian during their international friendly soccer match in Recife September 10, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

Li Jun from the news outlet, one of China's largest, reveals in the report that according to his investigations, a European brokerage company is responsible for the result. However, he did not disclose its name.

Moreover, the report claimed the company has been related to the China men's national team since Dutchman Adrianus Haan took it over in 2002 and made profits through a series of international matches.

The company also engaged in the scandals of Chinese Super League match manipulation and corruption over a number of years, which led to jail terms for a number of players, referees, club staffers and soccer authorities, including former head of the Chinese Football Association, said the report.

To the bewilderment of many, in a pregame bet prediction on the Italian website Goal.com, the 8-0 result was favored by most people, accounting for 17.43 percent, with odds up to 81 to 1.

A screen grab of Italian website Goal.com shows a China-Brazil pregame bet prediction on Monday.