Guangzhou Evergrande fans say it wasn’t them who displayed offensive banner in Hong Kong, and plead ‘don’t hurt the feelings’ of genuine supporters
Twenty fan clubs issue joint statement insisting those who showed banner calling for “annihilation” of Hong Kong’s “British dogs” were not genuine fans
Guangzhou Evergrande fans insisted on Friday that they had nothing to do with the offensive banner displayed at Hong Kong’s Mong Kok Stadium in a match last Tuesday, blaming people with “ulterior motives” and pleading with football authorities not to “hurt the feelings” of genuine fans.
The Chinese champions face a fine and having to play matches behind closed doors after the Asian Football Confederation charged the club with discriminatory behaviour and spectator misconduct for the banner, which read “Annihilate British dogs, extinguish Hong Kong [independence] poison”.
Twenty Guangzhou fan clubs issued a joint statement on Weibo claiming that after an “investigation” they had determined that the four men who displayed the banner were not genuine fans, and asked that the AFC therefore not punish their team.
Photos of the banner appear to show it being held up by at least 20 people, not four, and the fans’ plea seems certain to fall on deaf ears.
“All 325 Guangzhou fans that night ... went through the strict security of Mong Kok stadium,” read the statement. “During the match, all Guangzhou fans were in strict accordance with the security requirements ...