Hong Kong Football Association hands Shinichi Chan a one-year ban from representative football over drunken hotel room incident
- HKFA rejected an appeal from the 19-year-old to avoid being punished for the events that occurred in Japan
- 10 other players were banned from representing the city for one year, while two players receive additional fines of HK$6,000
Hong Kong Football Association has handed Shinichi Chan a one-year ban from representative football for his part in a drunken disturbance during October’s AFC U23 Championship qualifier in Japan.
Chan was one of many under-23 players from the representative team to be fined after they reportedly vandalised hotel rooms during a drinking session after Hong Kong were beaten 4-0 by Japan in their final qualifying match in Hirono, Fukushima on October 28.
On Tuesday night the HKFA’s disciplinary committee rejected that appeal and handed the 19-year-old a one-year suspension for breaching anti-epidemic rules of the local host and organiser. An additional fine of HK$4,000 was given for breaching the code of ethics for representative team members.
His penalty is the second-biggest among all players involved and means the Kitchee SC midfielder will miss the Asian Cup qualifiers in June. He is the last of the U23 squad to be penalised for the saga. The suspensions was backdated to December 22 and includes all representative team age groups.
Five other players including Max Poon, Ryan Cheng, Michael Chiu, Ng Ka-yeung, and Yip Cheuk-man escaped fines and were only barred from representing Hong Kong for a year. Rangers players Lam Hin-ting, 22, and Tse Ka-wing received the heaviest punishment of a one-year ban from international representative football plus a fine of HK$6,000.
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Chan made his international debut against Taiwan in 2019 and became one of the youngest ever players to represent the national team. While the ruling will be a heavy blow for Chan, HKFA chairman Pui Kwan-kay said have to learn from this experience.
“It is important for clubs that they not only pass on football skills to their players but also focus on the disciplinary side and their conduct off the pitch,” Pui said. “I hope the players have learned from the incident and their future in the game will not be affected.”
