On August 7, 2022, the wind and clouds changed suddenly, and a fake football storm quietly started on the field of the 16th Boys' Football BA (U15) Group Final in Guangdong Province. The Guangdong Provincial Party Committee responded swiftly, approving the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection to set up a special investigation team to dig deeper into the truth behind the incident, and to hold the relevant responsible persons seriously accountable.
The results of the investigation showed that 16 leading Party members and cadres were seriously dealt with for their ineffective performance of duties and dereliction of duty. Among them, Wang Yuping, secretary of the party group and director of the Guangdong Provincial Sports Bureau, was removed from his post because of a serious warning within the party and a political demerit; Mai Liang, deputy director, was also given a warning within the party and a political demerit.
Lei Inspection Jun, a member of the party group and deputy director of the Guangdong Provincial Sports Bureau, was likewise removed from his post for a serious warning within the party and a major demerit in political affairs. Cheng Zhiwen, member of the Party branch and director of the Guangdong Provincial Football Center, was dismissed from his party post, politically removed from his post, and demoted to an employee of the management post of the institution.
Officials such as Tan Ping, deputy mayor of the Guangzhou Municipal Government, and Ouyang Ziwen, party secretary of the Guangzhou Sports Bureau, were also disciplined accordingly for their indiscipline.
Officials such as Su Jindan, vice mayor of the Qingyuan Municipal Government, and Xu Guangyong, party secretary of the Qingyuan Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports, were likewise not spared, and all received serious warnings within the party, a major demerit in political affairs, and were removed from their posts.
Xie Zhiguang, chairman of the Guangzhou Football Association, has been removed from his position as chairman of the Guangzhou Football Association due to a two-year stay in the Party and a reduction in his retirement package, among other treatments.
The province reflected deeply and emphasized the need to deeply implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on soccer work, learn a lesson and take warning. At the same time, it is necessary to improve the management and supervision mechanism of the tournament to prevent the recurrence of similar problems.
In the match, Guangzhou suffered a tenacious comeback from Qingyuan after taking the lead, and eventually won the championship with a 5-3 reversal. However, behind the match, it triggered a deep reflection on the spirit and morality of soccer.
As the blogger "No. 10 Pei Pei" said: "To do soccer, first of all, we must love soccer, respect soccer, first be a human being, and then play soccer. Otherwise, even if we win more championships, what's the point?" This game has undoubtedly given us a vivid moral lesson.
The match between Guangzhou and Qingyuan demonstrated the intensity and excitement of soccer matches, but also revealed the moral bottom line that needs to be adhered to in soccer. In the future, we look forward to seeing more just, fair and healthy soccer matches.
