In the fifth round of Group H of the AFC Champions League group stage, which ended late on November 29, Zhejiang reversed 3:2 against Buriram United, who were at the bottom of the rankings but still had hopes of advancing. At the end of the match, a massive clash between the two teams took place and the scene was extremely chaotic. This caused the match itself to lose focus, and the next day's public opinion buzz centered on the clash.
Video from the scene showed that after the game, two Zhejiang players had a verbal dispute with a number of Buriram United players near the center line, with one Buriram player taking the lead and immediately sparking a clash. Players from both sides and the bench quickly joined in. In the process, Buriram United's Azerbaijani foreigner Sheyidayev locked his arm around the throat of a Zhejiang player, which intensified the conflict. The scene almost got out of control and he himself was mobbed. Eventually, security guards entered the stadium and separated the clashes. In the stands, fans chanted in unison to express their dissatisfaction with the visiting team's behavior.
Controversy is inevitable on the soccer field, but such a large-scale physical conflict is still relatively rare. Next, I am afraid that both sides can not escape the punishment of the AFC. The clash has also caused a lot of heated debate. In addition to efforts to explore the causes and restore the details, many people are thinking about why such a scene occurred. Chinese and Thai soccer really came to the same level.
As the level of soccer between China and Thailand gets closer and closer, the rivalry is destined to get worse. Thai fans have already shown a sharper antagonism than ever before when the top 36 played Thailand. They don't easily accept the fact that Thailand lost to China. This is also a side effect of the fact that the Chinese soccer team has indeed slipped into the third tier of Asia and has become a rival that Thailand wants to compete with. Now, the clash between Buriram United and Zhejiang proves once again that Chinese and Thai soccer have become real rivals.
