An on-pitch frenzy again hit a league match contested by Beijing
Guo'an - whose refusal to continue a match three years ago ignited
a nationwide football crisis.
In a Chinese Super League match between Guo'an and Shaanxi
Baorong on Sunday, Shaanxi's manager Cheng Yaodong broke into the
field twice for judgments he considered unfair.
The game had to be put on hold for about 20 minutes, with order
restored only after police intervened.
The visiting Shaanxi side had managed a perfect start. An early
Manuel Olivera goal gave the lead to a team eager to snap a winless
streak of six matches.
However, the extremely-strong desire for a bailout put the
Shaanxi side into a state of tension. The first rush took place in
the 36th minute, after a disputed penalty kick was given to the
hosts, Guo'an. The manager Cheng led some of his bench players to
the box, trying to hold up the action, in protest.
The game resumed seven minutes later but latent chaos clearly
remained.
Beijing Guo'an fortunately reaped the equalizer in the second
half, thanks to an own goal by Shaanxi's defender Wan Houliang. But
Cheng's fury erupted again as the team blamed the referee for not
allowing a Shaanxi player, who had just finished treatment, to
return to the pitch in time.
But this time, the referee didn't tolerate Cheng's unruliness
any longer, showing him a red card after the 11-minute
interval.
At the post-game press conference, a Shaanxi official hinted
that it was not they, but the unfair judges, who should be blamed
for the mess.
The Chinese Football Association declined to react instantly
after the game ended. But an official in charge of organizing
league matches, Ma Chengquan, promised that substantial punishments
will be meted out, according to the combined results of tape
recordings and eye witness reports.
The Chinese football league was plunged into disarray in late
2004 after monkey business - including match-fixing came to light.
Things have changed for the better this year, the CFA has said,
through tightened discipline and better commercial
promotions.
(Xinhua News Agency May 28, 2007)
