Guangzhou Evergrande sack Yu Hanchao for doctoring car licence plate

Reports said China winger, from Liaoning province, was trying to avoid restrictions for vehicles from outside city

The 33-year-old has played 115 games and scored 26 goals since joining CSL champions in 2014

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Yu Hanchao is seen altering his car plate number and was later released by Guangzhou Evergrande for violating club rules. Photo: Sina Sports

Published: 12:01pm, 15 Apr 2020Updated: 10:42pm, 15 Apr 2020

China international Yu Hanchao has been sacked by Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou Evergrande after violating club rules for altering his car licence plate number, which is a criminal offence in the country.

Yu, 33, was reported to be detained by police after video footage was released on Tuesday showing the winger doctoring the plate on his luxury 1.5 million yuan (US$212,000) Mercedes-Benz.

Traffic restrictions in Chinese cities limit drivers based on their licence plates.

The Chinese Super League champions issued a statement saying Yu, who still has one year on his contract, was sacked for violating one of the club’s “nine rules” that can be used to release a player.

Yu Hanchao in action against Qatar in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. Photo: AFP

Yu joined Evergrande from Dalian Aerbin in 2014, along with teammate Li Xuepeng, also a China international, for a reported fee of 40 million yuan. He has made 59 appearances for China since 2009 and scored nine goals.

His last appearance for China was in the 2019 Asian Cup group stage when he was a substitute in two games. He only played 10 games for Evergrande last season due to injuries and went to Italy and Germany for surgery.