On May 2, the CFA issued a fine of 50,000 yuan to Henan FC for "harassing match officials" in the aisles during the second half of the ninth round of the Chinese Super League. On May 4, Guangzhou beat Dalian Yingbo 1-0 in the ninth round of the Chinese First Division League. After the match, visiting goalkeeper Huo Shenping was pushed down by home player Wang Xuanhong, triggering a large-scale clash between the two players.
Within two days of the May Day holiday, two incidents in the Chinese Super League (CSL) and Chinese First Division (CFL) attracted widespread attention. Although the latter has been reported that the Guangzhou team goalkeeper Huo Shenping triggered the game supervision in the player channel "stern notice" conflict. But in fact, not only the whole incident is extremely complex, and even the relevant penalties need to know more about the Football Association before reaching a conclusion.
Here, I do not want to discuss the details of the cause, process and outcome of these two incidents. I only wish to talk about my personal views on the incidents themselves, in the hope that they can arouse sufficient attention from the management.
Henan club's punishment seems to be simple, but fans and some media have other opinions. The simplest fact is that some people believe that a different standard of punishment could lead to a change in Henan's mentality. According to the CFA Disciplinary Code, "discussing the law" with match officials during a match (including in the tunnel at halftime) is indeed "harassment" and carries a fine of 20,000 RMB or more. Depending on the circumstances, it may also be punished with a heavier penalty. From the Football Association's penalty announcement, it is clear that the Henan club belongs to the latter, and 50,000 yuan should be within the scope of the rules.
What I mean is that the Henan club officials who committed the "harassment" should not have made this paper mistake at all. No matter how big the grievance is, they have to bear it. After the match, they would have lodged a complaint within the stipulated time. In fact, when the Refereeing Committee evaluated the game later, it noted that the duty referee had missed the yellow card for Zhejiang's No. 29 player (Zhang Jiaqi), thus turning two yellow cards into one red card.
According to reports, the match between Dalian Yingbo and Guangzhou may cause more controversy and make it more difficult for the FA to penalize the player. However, there is also a view that Huo Shenping's bowing to the home fans to thank them for the match was not necessarily the cause of the clash, and certainly not the reason why he was "pushed down". As for the yellow card he received, it was also interpreted by the media as "provoking the fans" and so on.
This article has no comment on that, still trying to get another perspective.
In the past nine rounds of matches, especially the first five rounds, the Chinese B League, including the Chinese First Division, has received significantly more tickets than last season, and much more than the Chinese Super League. According to incomplete statistics, in the 2023 season, the Chinese First Division and the Chinese Second Division received only 10 tickets, but this season it jumped to 18 tickets. In comparison, the Chinese Super League had three singles in both seasons.
This seems to indicate the fact that the management's efforts have been more focused on the Chinese Super League, and the introduction of the "new eight rules" is also evidence of this. In other words, Chinese Super League clubs are likely to have done more effective work in strengthening themselves. If the lower the level of the league, the less attention and management, the more problems there will be, which may become a vicious circle, and ultimately further damage the cornerstone of the entire Chinese soccer. This phenomenon should cause the FA to think deeply.
In recent years, the refereeing issue has become a topic of concern and heated debate. Over the past few seasons, there have been a variety of claims, including "mountains", "humane whistles", "holding", etc., as well as blaming the programmers. , also including blaming the programmers. But the fact is that no referee has ever been publicly dealt with because of this soccer anti-corruption. Fans can't help but ask:Is it true that no one in the refereeing has a big problem? Why, is it so hidden from this team?
The game is not just about the two sides, it's about the fans, and it includes other factors, including the referee and match supervisors and other interested parties. The principle of fairness and impartiality must be upheld by all participants. Like the "officials" of the Henan club mentioned above, they knew that the state-owned shareholders had very strict requirements on the style of play and discipline for this season, and even though there were some problems in the past, they didn't file any complaints. But this time, they "knowingly violated the law", and it is said that they could not stand the "double standard penalty".
If referees were more strictly educated and regulated, and if there were as few paper mistakes as possible in the game, the game might be smoother, and disputes and conflicts might be more serious. At least, players and coaches might not be so impulsive when problems arise. In this sense, I personally believe that in addition to strengthening the management of clubs, players and coaches, it is also necessary to strengthen the management of referees. Only if everyone has more work ethic can the league level improve after the rise.
