Tax dodgers to face points chop

Chinese Super League teams who evade the country’s 100 percent levy on foreign player transfers face crippling points deductions under new measures aimed at discouraging clubs from exploiting loopholes in the rules.

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) said clubs could be docked up to 15 points depending on the value of a transfer and would be prevented from registering such players until all contract details and proofs of payment are submitted to the league.

The CFA bulletin issued late on Monday appeared to be a response to Congolese striker Cedric Bakambu’s move from Spain’s Villarreal to Beijing Guo’an, after reports suggested it was structured to dodge the transfer tax.

The CFA last May slapped a 100 percent levy on incoming transfers worth over 45 million yuan ($7 million) as concern mounted over spiralling fees splashed out to woo foreign talent to Chinese teams, most of which are already believed to operate at a loss.

The Bakambu affair has emerged as a litmus test of the curbs, as reports in Europe said around $49 million was paid to free the player from his Villarreal contract.

The move would reportedly bring Bakambu to Beijing on a free transfer and has seemingly prompted the CFA to act.

The CFA said the tightened rules were issued after “considering the realities that have emerged in the current process of registering player transfers”.

It also said clubs that evade the levy on transfers would have between one and 15 points deducted from their league tally depending on the size of the deal, with moves of 360 million yuan ($57 million) or more triggering the most severe punishment.

Within this tiered structure, Guo’an could be facing a 10-point chop.

BBC Sport quoted a source close to Bakambu as saying Guo’an provided the funds to buy him from Villarreal.

Guo’an released photos last month of Bakambu training with them in Portugal, but declined to confirm whether the 26-year-old had indeed joined the club.

The CFA underlined its commitment to the 100 percent tax rule after the winter transfer window opened in China on Jan 1, saying it would not stand for any “loophole-exploiting behavior”.