Hong Kong’s Juventus fan club banned for violating rules including showing political stance
- Fellow supporters groups report fan club for political posts on social media during city’s protests
- Change their name from ‘official’ to ‘officious’ after repeated warnings by Serie A giants
The official Juventus fan club in Hong Kong has been banned by the Italian Serie A side after it was accused of violating their rules, including supporting the anti-government protests that took place in the city from the middle of last year.
The fan club said on its Facebook page that it has changed its name to Juventus “officious” fan club as it had been repeatedly warned by the Italian football giants before being stripped of its official title.
“It first came last year when the [fan] club voiced out our views on the social situation of Hong Kong, putting up announcements, posts and petitions, but these actions were reported to Juventus by a number of our fellow fan clubs in Hong Kong,” the club said.
“Subsequently, we received warnings from Juventus saying our behaviours had violated the rules and asked us to delete the related posts.
“Recently we planned to organise an exhibition in Hong Kong for goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and set up a local membership subscription scheme to raise the required funding.
“Again, the plan was reported by some others and Juventus said the scheme is profit making and has violated the rules. Since we have accumulated many warnings, they decide to stop our operation.”