'You've killed him!' they yelled and laughed.
'He won't be playing this weekend then,' said someone else in a matter-of-fact tone.
The victim was Manchester United striker Louis Saha - a plastic cut-out of him, to be precise - lying on the ground stiff after being smacked between the eyes by a football kicked by a child.
The 'murder' happened during a demonstration session held by the official Manchester United soccer school in Hong Kong yesterday.
Twenty youngsters, most from Tuen Mun, went through some of the drills the school will provide for eight to 15-year-olds when it opens next month.
Under the guidance of David Rouse and Mick Duxbury, coaches from the club's youth academy in Manchester, the children went through the basics of shooting, dribbling and passing.
'This is similar to what we provide in Manchester,' said Gavin Rhodes, operations manager of United's soccer schools.