SEVEN footballers from former S-League club Liaoning Guangyuan were charged on Wednesday with match-fixing - the largest number of players allegedly involved in a 'kelong' scandal since the league's inception in 1996.

They are goalkeeper Dong Lei, 26, defender Li Xuebai, 30, defender Wang Lin, 20, forward Li Zheng, 26, forward Zhao Zhipeng, 26, forward Tong Di, 26, and midfielder Peng Zhiyi, 22. All are Chinese nationals.

They are accused of accepting a total of at least $27,950 in bribes to intentionally lose six S-League matches last year.

The money was allegedly offered by Liaoning's former general manager Wang Xin, who failed to turn up in court last month to answer corruption charges and is now thought to be in China.

All seven players had their passports impounded last November, after the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) began its probe into the club. The footballers were hauled up by the CPIB on Tuesday afternoon and spent the night in custody until their court appearance on Wednesday.

They face a total of 24 charges of match-fixing. Each charge carries a fine of up to $100,000, or five years in jail, or both. Bail of $15,000 was set for each player, but only Dong and Zhao were able to raise bail.

That left the others to spend the Chinese New Year holiday at Queenstown Remand Prison. The match-fixing trial for all but one of the footballers will be heard on Feb 18.

Zhao's case has been brought forward by the High Court to Feb 13. On Tuesday, he asked the High Court to let him fly back to China, saying he was getting married on Feb 16.

He also wanted to go home in time to meet this Friday's deadline for the registration of players in the Chinese Super League. The motion was filed just hours before he was charged with match-fixing.

Justice V.K. Rajah resolved the matter by bringing forward Zhao?s trial.

Four of the players - Dong, Zhao, Li Xuebai and Wang - are represented by lawyer Mahmood Gaznavi. The other three have not engaged counsel.

Two other players - defenders Li Tong and Xu Wenbin - were not charged, though their passports are still being held by the authorities.

Liaoning have been excluded from the new S-League season, which kicks off on Feb 18.