China FA probes mass on-pitch brawl between Wuhan Hongxing and Jiangsu Suning
China football authorities start investigation into violence on the pitch in an FA Cup match with angry hosts from the amateur side attacking players of the big-spending club
China’s football authorities launched an investigation on Thursday after a mass brawl erupted at a Chinese FA Cup match involving big-spending Jiangsu Suning, with one player receiving a kung fu-style flying kick.
Violence broke out when towering Jiangsu striker Ge Wei scored in the ninth minute of extra time for a 1-0 win against amateur side Wuhan Hongxing, prompting enraged Wuhan players to attack the visiting team.
It was totally Wuhan’s fault. They kept wasting time blatantly and they simply couldn’t take getting beat
The ruckus saw Chinese international midfielder Wu Xi receive a flying kick to the back as fists flew and combatants chased each other across the pitch.
Jiangsu led a world-leading transfer spending spree earlier this year, but because of Chinese FA Cup rules, megabucks signings Alex Teixeira, Ramires and Jo were not playing on Wednesday.
The incident is embarrassing for Chinese football, which has made intense efforts to clean itself up after a series of scandals and sees itself as a future global power in the sport.
The Chinese Football Association called it a “very serious breach of discipline”.
“The Chinese FA takes this matter very seriously and have already launched a formal investigation,” the body said.