( CNN ) -- He was the soccer referee known as `` golden whistle '' who officiated in high-profile events such as the World Cup and the Olympics . But a Chinese court has called fulltime on Lun Ju 's career by jailing him for match fixing . China 's state news agency Xinhua reported on Thursday that Lu has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison by a court in Liaoning Province after accepting $ 128,000 to fix seven matches in China 's national league . Three other officials -- Huang Junjie , Wan Daxue and Zhou Weixin -- were also jailed for seven , six , and three and a half years respectively . The cases were brought after a government crackdown on persistent allegations of gambling , match fixing and corruption in China 's football leagues was launched in 2009 . But it is the fall of Lu that has grabbed the most headlines around the world . He was the first Chinese official to referee at a World Cup , when South Korea and Japan hosted the showpiece event in 2002 . Prior to that he had taken charge of matches at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and was twice voted referee of the year by the Asian Football Confederation . But the court in the city of Dandong , near the border with North Korea , found that Lu had altered the outcome of seven games that involved four clubs including Shanghai Shenhua , who have just signed former France striker Nicolas Anelka from English club Chelsea . Huang was convicted of accepting $ 247,975 from seven separate cases while $ 31,760 of his personal assets were also confiscated . Zhou was proved to have taken $ 77,829 to fix eight games . In 2004 he awarded a penalty in a Chinese Super League match that prompted seven clubs to protest against the Chinese Football Association . Zhou and Huang were also found to have fixed the outcome of two international matches , while Wan was convicted of accepting $ 149,306 to influence games . Former CFA vice-president Yang Yimin and ex-CFA Referee Committee director Zhang Jianqiang are due to be sentenced on February 18 , Xinhua reported . The fact that several of China 's top clubs were alluded to in the court cases also casts doubt on the new league season , due to begin in March , as they await to hear if they will be sanctioned .
Former World Cup referee Lu Jun jailed in China for match fixing . Liaoning Province 's state news agency reports Jun sentenced to five and a half years . Lu Jun found guilty of accepting $ 247,975 to fix seven matches in Chinese league . seven other referees also found guilty of match fixing and handed jail terms .