There is no tie for every match, but there are draws if teams can't be ranked, according to the controversial new rules implemented in the soccer tournament of the ongoing China's 10th National Games.

Under the new rules, a match must end up with either a win or loss during the group stage, and if both sides tie following the regular time of 90 minutes, a penalty shootout will take place immediately to determine the result.

If two teams collect the same points, their rankings will be decided first by the meeting records between them. If three teams or more amass the same points, a draw, instead of a play-off or goal advantage, will be made to decide the final standings.

The top two teams in each of the three groups will qualify automatically for the quarter-finals with the other two coming from the three third-placed teams in their own group, decided also by a draw if they are tied in points.

The organisers explained that they adopted the rules in a bid to prevent the match-fixing which has beset the sport of the country for recent years.

Whether the matches could be prevented from being fixed remains to be seen, the rules, however, have made the comeptition more like the lottery.

Three men's teams and at least the same number of women's teamsare crossing their fingers, waiting for the draw to know whether they could advance to the quarterfinals.

"Under the new rules, the soccer tournament is more a matter of luck than competition, "complained Chen Yuliang, coach of the Guangdong team.

"I would prefer the rankings to be determined by competition rather than draw, the current rules would be a setback on players'commitment to the tournament."

Ying Tiesheng, coach of the Shangdong team, also expressed his reservations about the rules, saying that the draw would favor weaker teams.

"The weaker teams could adopt a defensive strategy to force the match into the penalty shootout, before they have a chance to advance through the draw," said Ying.

Despite the complaints from the coaches, the organisers said they have few options to explore.

"It is improper not to play the extra time if the match is deadlocked after 90 minutes, " admitted Zhang Jianqiang, deputy director of the soccer commission for the organising committee.

But he stressed that the new rules could undermine greatly the chances of matches being fixed.

"The introduction of new rules is somewhat an expedient to the mounting speculations on the match-fixing in Chinese soccer," he said.