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FA chairman makes scathing attack on teams and coaches

In an unprecedented outburst the head of China's football association has warned he will abolish the nascent Super League if clubs do not mend their corrupt ways, and in his public verbal attack he went on to accuse Chinese coaches of being incompetent and players of showing a bad attitude.

Xie Yalong, chairman of the China Football Association, let the scathing criticism fly at a gathering in Guangzhou of China's professional clubs that was open to the media.

He first took aim at the players, coaches and referees who have engaged in illegal gambling and match fixing.

As the teams in the deeply troubled China Super League prepare for their third season, he said: 'The first requirement is to keep clean. Do not play false football. Do not gamble on football. And you should not be sinful.'

Should the corruption continue, Xie said he was in favour of calling off the Super League.

'If it proves too difficult to solve all the problems, we should just stop the league,' he said.

'We can look at starting it again when all the problems are solved. Football is an industry and it has rules. If you do not follow the rules, football will die.'

Xie went on to say that China's coaches should take responsibility for the low level of football in the country.

'You do not train your players hard, and the way you train them is a complete mess,' he said, adding that he had been analysing the clubs' training methods closely over the past year and had documentation to back up his allegations.

He said Chinese coaches were constantly changing their tactical theories and causing confusion for their players.

'There is a problem in the coaches' understanding of professional training knowledge,' he said.

'The physical ability of their players is not good, and their football sense is not good.'

China's national players were not spared Xie's wrath, as he went on to describe some of their international performances as 'shameful'.

'I was very angry. The attitude they showed towards the referees was very bad, they hit their opponents, they treated the spectators impolitely. It was shameful,' he said.

His harsh words appeared to have an impact on national coach Zhu Guanghu, who has gathered his squad in Guangzhou for a training camp in preparation for the Asian Cup. After the seminar, under Xie's stern and watchful eye, Zhu put his players through a rigorous workout that reporters and players said was far more intense than any of the previous sessions.

The Beijing News said the normally restrained Zhu lambasted his panting players throughout the session, demanding they push themselves harder.

'How can you defend when you are 20 metres away from your marker? Never mind about kicking the ball, you can't even kick the player,' he was quoted as roaring at one player.



Shutdown threat to Chinese league