DANDONG, Northeast China - Former Chinese soccer referee Huang Junjie was sentenced to seven years in prison for accepting bribes as non-state staff and confiscation of his personal property worth 200,000RMB (about $31,760).

Special coverage:  Tackling football corruption

Huang used to be one of the best-known soccer referees in China. He had a more than 20-year-long career as a referee and was certified as an international level referee in 1998.

A northeast Chinese court has deliverd first verdict on graft charges of five former soccer referees.