Allegations of racism and a violation of the Chinese Super League’s Covid-19 quarantine protocols overshadowed the football on Friday. Shenzhen FC striker John Mary is reported to have been racially abused by someone on the Shanghai Shenhua bench during the teams’ 0-0 draw in Dalian on Friday evening. The Cameroonian footballer, who has been in China since 2018, was sent off in the 90th minute of the scoreless draw for violent conduct after he responded to shouts from the bench. The referee was alerted to Mary’s language by the fourth official and subsequently sent off. No one from Shenhua was punished. Mary alleged after the game that it was because of racist abuse, with a WeChat voice message shared to Weibo by a reporter named “Jasmine”. “I have been insulted because of what I am, being a black man. You know probably they think I don't understand Chinese,” Mary said, saying they had used the Mandarin for “f*** your mother” and “stupid c***” among others. “And probably I guess you saw the video,” Mary added, referring to a video shared online where he appears to be racially abused with the n-word from the sidelines. “So tell me how would you feel if you’re a black person and you have been insulted like that? And they go unpunished, but they gave me a red card,” Mary said. The Chinese Football Association moved swiftly to ban Changchun Yatai midfielder Zhang Li after he was accused of racially abusing Demba Ba in August, 2018. Ba was playing for Shanghai Shenhua at the time and it was then coach Wu Jingui who raised the alleged abuse. In the post-match conference following the 1:1 draw between Changchun Yatai and Shanghai Shenhua, Wu Jingui, the head coach of Shanghai Shenhua, claimed that Zhang Li, the midfielder of Changchun Yatai, used racial slurs to Demba Ba, which provoked the latter's anger. pic.twitter.com/XCCeaMfHlq — Titan Sports Plus (@titan_plus) August 4, 2018 Zhang was banned for six games and fined US$6,125 after being found guilty of “interfering with the match, causing chaos and giving a bad social image” in the days after the game. Shenzhen are set to appeal Mary’s red card according to reports. Meanwhile, veteran striker Muriqui was accused of breaching the quarantine protocols that the league has in place. In torrential rain, Shenzhen FC tied Jiangsu Suning 1:1. Dai Wai Tsun set up John Mary to equalize. Shenzhen hit the woodwork 3 times. The venue, Dalian youth training center, whose drainage system worked well, will be used for the postponed Shenhua vs Henan Jianye on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/74S84T1xad — Titan Sports Plus (@titan_plus) August 24, 2020 The Shijiazhuang Ever Bright player went to visit his newborn daughter and returned to the hotel, where all players, staff and officials are based. “The Shijiazhuang Ever Bright FC striker left the bubble the CSL created in Suzhou last Friday for Shijiazhuang to see his daughter, born the day before. He returned to join up with his team on Saturday and started in the match against Hebei China Fortune FC two days later,” Xinhua reported. “Muriqui played a league match soon after he returned to the bubble, and this caused media and fans' concern,” the Shanghai-based Oriental Sports Daily said, casting doubt on whether he had been through any quarantine process. Aside from the 0-0 draw between Shenzhen and Shanghai Shenhua, Friday’s other game saw Guangzhou Evergrande beat city rivals R&F 2-1. Brazilian midfielder Paulinho scored the winner for Fabio Cannavaro’s side in the 93rd minute after teammate Anderson Talisca had levelled Huang Zhengyu’s 62nd minute opener for R&F.