Out-of-control manager twice holds up match

An on-pitch frenzy¹ again hit a league match contested by Beijing Guo'an - whose refusal to continue a match three years ago ignited a nationwide football crisis.

Cheng Yaodong (C) leads his men to the pitch, protesting judgments2 he considered unfair in a league match on Sunday, May 27, 2007.

In a Chinese Super League match between Guo'an and Shaanxi Baorong on Sunday, Shaanxi's manager Cheng Yaodong broke into the field twice for judgments he considered unfair.

The game had to be put on hold for about 20 minutes, with order restored only after police intervened.

The visiting Shaanxi side had managed a perfect start. An early Manuel Olivera goal gave the lead to a team eager to snap a winless streak³ of six matches.

However, the extremely-strong desire for a bailout put the Shaanxi side into a state of tension. The first rush took place in the 36th minute, after a disputed penalty kick was given to the hosts, Guo'an. The manager Cheng led some of his bench players to the box, trying to hold up the action, in protest.

The game resumed seven minutes later but latent chaos⁴ clearly remained.

Beijing Guo'an fortunately reaped the equalizer in the second half, thanks to an own goal by Shaanxi's defender⁵ Wan⁶ Houliang. But Cheng's fury erupted again as the team blamed the referee⁷ for not allowing a Shaanxi player, who had just finished treatment, to return to the pitch in time.

But this time, the referee didn't tolerate Cheng's unruliness any longer, showing him a red card after the 11-minute interval⁸.

At the post-game press conference, a Shaanxi official hinted that it was not they, but the unfair judges, who should be blamed for the mess.

The Chinese Football Association declined to react instantly after the game ended. But an official in charge of organizing league matches, Ma Chengquan, promised that substantial punishments will be meted⁹ out, according to the combined results of tape recordings¹⁰ and eye witness reports.

The Chinese football league was plunged¹¹ into disarray¹² in late 2004 after monkey business - including match-fixing came to light. Things have changed for the better this year, the CFA has said, through tightened¹³ discipline and better commercial promotions¹⁴.