On the evening of August 24, Cai Huikang, the national team back-rower for Shanghai Harbour in the Chinese Super League, apologized for his "light bulb checking" comments posted on social media at the pre-match press conference against Henan. Cai Huikang apologized for his words and actions, which caused distress to fans across the country on a sad day for them.
In this week's Asian Champions League play-offs, Shanghai Harbour, the leaders of the Chinese Super League, lost a humiliating 2-3 home match to Pathum United, a mid-table team in the Thai Premier League. Dissatisfied with the team's performance, some of the Harbour faithful turned their backs on the pitch in protest. In response, Harbour international Choi Hui-kang took to social media and said in a mocking tone that the Harbour faithful were "checking light bulbs".
Choi is unhappy with the team's questioning of head coach Javier. He believes that the Spanish coach has led Harbour to a 12-point lead in the Chinese Super League, but he is still being questioned. He sarcastically called Javier's fans "ignorant". Not only that, Cai Huikang also said that the Asian Champions League exit was just a failure. When he quit, the earth was still spinning. He even suggested that port players mimic the action of checking a light bulb in response to the ridicule after winning the league.
Cai Huikang's comments also aroused even more intense anger from the already dissatisfied fans. In the end, he had to publicly apologize with a smile at a press conference, "The coach, like our players, was very sad to lose the game. I was still excited and angry at that time. I would like to apologize to the fans across the country for the inappropriate things I said, the inappropriate things I said, and for adding to the frustration of the fans across the country on this sad day."
Cai Huikang has played 23 games this season as the absolute main back under Xavier's marquee. In the crucial AFC Champions League match against Barcelona United, Cai Huikang's performance after making his debut wasn't good enough and thus he was substituted by the manager at halftime.
