TIELING, Liaoning - Former Chinese soccer officials and referees who were arrested on bribe-taking and match-fixing charges will go on trial next week, the courts said.

According to a notice posted by the Intermediate People's Court of Tieling, a city in Northeast China's Liaoning province, Zhang Jianqiang, ex-director of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) referee committee, will be the first suspect to appear on court at 8:30 a.m on Monday, followed by Yang Yimin, ex-deputy director of the Chinese Football Administrative Center, on Wednesday morning.

Also facing trials next week at the Intermediate People's Court of Dandong, a border city in Liaoning, are several top referees including Lu Jun, the country's "golden whistle" who officiated at 2002 World Cup.

But the date for the trial of for former CFA vice-president Nan Yong, who was arrested in March 2010, and Nan's predecessor Xie Yalong, has yet to be announced.

China's professional soccer leagues have been plagued with allegations of gambling, match-fixing and corrupt referees for years, and the police launched a probe in 2009.

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