(NEWSPHOTO)

Lu Jun, the first Chinese soccer referee to officiate at the World Cup finals and the Olympic tournament, was arrested on corruption charges along with two other internationally experienced referees. The Chinese Football Association confirmed on March 12.

Local media said Lu accepted huge amounts of money to fix matches when he was in active service.

Lu, 50, started his refereeing career at the age of 19 and qualified as an international referee in 1991. He supervised more than 200 matches of China's top soccer league before retiring in early 2005. Lu made his Olympic debut at the 2000 Games in Sydney. In 2002, he refereed two group stage matches at the World Cup finals in South Korea and Japan.

Lu was crowned Asian Referee of the Year in 1998 and 2004. Between 2006 and 2007, he was a member of the Referees Committee of the Asian Football Confederation, the governing body of Asian football.