Victor Anichebe Alleges He Quit Chinese Football After Being Told 'Not to Try'

Former Everton and West Bromwich Albion forward Victor Anichebe has reported his own club, China League One side Beijing Enterprises, after alleging he was encouraged to fix matches and "not to try."

The Mirror's Alex Smith wrote that Anichebe stopped playing for the Beijing club after complaining on two occasions for being told to not try. When he raised issue with the order, Anichebe said his team-mates told him: "This is China; we do as we're told."

The Nigerian was released by Sunderland last summer and joined the Chinese second-tier outfit in June, but he left last October because of concerns held with the commands alleged.

UK-based lawyer Chris Farnell is advising Anichebe and is said to have raised the player's issues with the Beijing outfit's general manager on two occasions, but the complaints seemingly didn't lead to changes.

Farnell was quoted by Smith and said: "We have been instructed to approach Beijing's general manager on the player's behalf but, to date, his appeals for action have been ignored on two occasions. We have since reported the matter to the appropriate associations."

Anichebe is understood to no longer be contracted to Beijing Enterprises and was spotted attending Championship fixtures earlier in the summer. Blackburn Rovers boss Tony Mowbray dashed talk of a move for the 30-year-old at the time, per reporter Rich Sharpe:

Sky Sports provided some context on match-fixing in Chinese football and reported a three-year investigation released in 2013 turned up results that led to 12 teams being fined and 58 players, officials and referees banned.

Anichebe has had struggles with injuries in his career, most notably missing almost all of 2009 because of a knee injury while he was at Everton, but given his age, he could still be an experienced pickup as a free signing.

Prospective employers will at least pass him on a test of morality after he called out the wrongdoing he alleged was taking place in China, and he suggests the issue could be a deep-rooted issue in the league.