On the night of July 20, Wuhan Three Town hosted Chengdu Rongcheng in the 24th round of Chinese Super League matches, the atmosphere was heated and many "sparks" were ignited instantly. These "sparks" may lead to subsequent disputes, and even face heavy fines from the Football Association. Among them, Ren Hang, the captain of Wuhan Sanzhen, became the focus of attention.
The main controversy surrounding Ren Hang occurred in the 77th minute when Felipe and Park Ji-soo inadvertently collided in a fight for an overhead kick and both fell to the ground, sparking an argument between the two players. The referee showed yellow cards to Felipe, Li Yang and Ren Hang respectively. By the 85th minute, Ren Hang was given a second yellow card for shoving down Felipe on the outskirts of the penalty area, turning two yellows into one red.
Although Renhang was red-carded, it was still part of the game. In fact, until the end of the match, Ren Hang seemed to have little to do with the "spark" described at the beginning of this article. However, after the game, Ren Hang may have been angry about chatting with a netizen of Dai & Lin.
According to some well-known media people, Ren Hang's chat with Dai & Lin was mainly about two points: firstly, expressing his dissatisfaction with the two yellow cards given to him by the referee during the match; and secondly, sarcastically teasing the opposing players as "city management". In particular, Ren Hang emphasized that he had nothing to do with the clash between Felipe and Park Ji-soo, and should not have received a yellow card (his words: "What does the first yellow card have to do with me? 25, looking for theories on every ball, and the referee didn't say anything"). Dai & Lin responded, "Luckily Wuhan Sanzhen 25 did not meet me." , and teased Renhang about being like the city police when "all the balls are in his shadow." Dai & Lin appreciated the metaphor, and Ren Hang responded humorously, "Wonderful."
Who are the 25 players in Chengdu Hibiscus? How did they react after learning about Renhang and Dai & Lin's chat? This is not the focus of this article, so it is omitted here. But it was one of the "sparks" that came out of the game, and it was quite fascinating.
Article 82 of the CFA Discipline (2024) states that "irresponsible comments", which refers to irresponsible comments and intentional attacks on match officials, other players, officials, clubs (teams), member associations that have a negative impact on the CFA, regional committees, and players, shall be subject to at least a one-match suspension or a fine of at least 10,000 RMB .
According to the above chats, Ren Hang committed at least two offenses: "making irresponsible comments related to the match" and "attacking other players" (calling the opposing team's No. 25 player a city policeman). According to the disciplinary code, Ren Hang will probably be suspended or fined by the FA.
Compared to a one-game suspension or a $10,000 fine, the ridicule of an opposing player may be more serious and have a worse impact. It must be said that Ren Hang's jokes are too exaggerated, and even have the suspicion of "smearing" a certain industry. In addition, the chat records of Ren Hang and Dai & Lin were forwarded by many well-known media people, triggering a large number of netizens' attention and comments, which had a real social impact, whether it is "bad" enough.
Therefore, I personally believe that if the FA penalizes Ren Hang, I am afraid that it will not only be a one-game suspension or a fine of 10,000 yuan. The Federation may consider Ren Hang's "irresponsible comments" to be of a serious nature and adopt the principle of heavier penalties, possibly suspending Ren Hang for 10 to 8 matches or fining him 108,000 yuan.
This incident should serve as another reminder to players, teams and clubs: mind your words, don't make random match-related comments on social media, and don't deliberately attack referees and opposing players.
As a matter of fact, in recent years, it is not uncommon for players, coaches or club investors to be penalized or even heavily fined by the HKFA for violations in the Chinese Super League and the Chinese League One. As clubs, it is all the more important for us to educate our players and other staff to respect the referees, opponents and fans, abide by the order of the league and work together to maintain the league environment.
