'Under an unjust and unfair situation, Guoan have decided to withdraw'
Beijing Hyundai Guoan have pulled out of the Chinese Super League, local media reported, the club shouting allegations about rampant corruption in the game as they go.
One of the mainland's leading clubs, Beijing staged China's first football strike in an away game against Shenyang Ginde on Saturday after a controversial penalty decision. The match was abandoned with the score at 1-1 but the referee awarded a 3-0 win to the home side.
'Under an unjust and unfair situation, Guoan have decided to withdraw,' the club was quoted as saying on the sina.com website. A disciplinary committee of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) was meeting to decide on what action it would take, China Radio International reported, and would make a decision soon.
The decision could have major implications for China's national team, according to a commentary on sina.com, as three Beijing players - defenders Hao Wei and Xu Yunlong and midfielder Yang Pu - are in the 26-man World Cup squad for the qualifier against Kuwait next week.
With Beijing withdrawing, the trio would have no club, meaning they would have to withdraw from the Chinese team, who were severely criticised in their unimpressive 1-0 win over Malaysia last month. Beijing had accepted their punishment for walking out in protest during the match against Shenyang, but Beijing now say they will refuse to accept any more punishment by the CFA.
The club insist that they have done nothing wrong and that any punishment meted out to them should have been done within 60 hours of the match.