Striker Ewolo proclaims innocence in China gambling, match-fixing, says police cleared him
Donovan Ewolo was handed a five-year ban from Chinese football in relation to his time with China League One side Heilongjiang Ice City
One of the 76 people handed a Chinese football ban in connection with a gambling and match-fixing investigation has proclaimed his innocence, and said police allowed him to leave the country after he was cleared of wrongdoing.
Donovan Ewolo, a Cameroonian striker who played in the top-tier Chinese Super League (CSL) and in China League One (CL1) between 2020 and 2024, said he had never gambled in China and no one had ever approached him to discuss fixing matches.
However, the 28-year-old said he had been paid a 50,000 yuan (US$7,000) bonus by Li Shuai, his Heilongjiang Ice City captain, after a win over CL1 promotion rivals Chengdu Rongcheng.
According to Ewolo, on another occasion, Li also gave him a Louis Vuitton bag worth 20,000 yuan.
While five coaches and 38 players, such as South Korea’s Son Jun-ho, were given life bans, another 33, Ewolo among them, were given a five-year ban. The latter’s punishment specifically related to his loan spell at Heilongjiang between 2020 and 2021.
The striker left China in 2024 to join Al Adalah in Saudi Arabia and now plies his trade with Kuwait side Khaitan SC.
