China Super League (soccer league)
The new season officially kicked off last weekend, but the first round of matches was a shocker: two current internationals and a former international left the game due to red cards.
In Shandong Taishan's first match against Zhejiang, Shandong player Zheng Zheng inadvertently stepped on Zhejiang's foreign aid with his foot after falling to the ground, resulting in a red card; while in Shanghai Seaport's match against Wuhan Changjiang, Xu Xin, a newcomer to the Seaport, kicked Hu Jinghang while scrambling for a high ball, receiving a red card as well. In the match between Beijing Guoan and Cangzhou Lions, Guoan captain Zhang Chendong also received a red card after bringing down his opponent while defending against a one-two punch.
Senior commentator Ma Dexing pointed out that the two fouls were beyond the scope of the game's technical and tactical, and both were assisted by VAR technology, and the referee produced a red card after confirming it through replay.
Frankly speaking, these two red cards are really undeserved, especially as international players, making such actions on the field is really out of line. However, as players, especially the two current international players, in the current environment and atmosphere of Chinese soccer, such behavior undoubtedly brings more negative impact on Chinese soccer.
Especially, in the current situation, the Chinese Super League can restart itself is very difficult. The performance of the international players should have played a positive leading role, but their personal behavior has brought the whole Chinese soccer to the blame of the outside world, which is worthy of our deep thought. From the current situation, the two red cards may lead to further punishment decisions by the CFA Disciplinary Committee.
