HONG KONG (Reuters) - Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Paulinho has been asked by Chinese football authorities to end his involvement with an overseas betting company, urging all players in the Chinese Super League to "be strict with their public image". Gambling and pornography are illegal in China and the Chinese Football Association issued a statement on Saturday evening warning Paulinho about his future behaviour. "Guangzhou Evergrande have criticised Paulinho and asked him to stop the commercial activities with the betting company immediately in order to put an end to any similar activities in the future. "Recently, FIFA and the AFC have been working hard to protect the integrity of football and have explicitly forbidden professional players from any involvement in the betting industry," it said. We hope professional players can respect and comply with the regulations, and respect their own career.

Source: The Star April 16, 2017 06:00 UTC