Recently, the Football Association (FA) publicly announced its decision to penalize Guangzhou player Efirdin - he was banned for three matches and fined 30,000 RMB for violent behavior. The news immediately triggered widespread attention from the media and fans. The Peninsula Morning Post commented that athletes who violate professional ethics on the field should be punished accordingly. However, for the young players of Guangzhou team, this fine is undoubtedly a heavy burden. Even for a star player like Efirdin, even if he earns a lot of money, the fine is almost a month's income.
Looking back at the incident, it was in the 90th minute towards the end of the match with Hebei, Efirdin intentionally struck his opponent's chest with his elbow during a heated confrontation, an action that was penalized with a red card by the referee. After investigating the referee's report, on-site video, the parties' notes and the content of the hearing, the Disciplinary Committee of the Football Association determined that Efirdin's behavior constituted violence, and the penalty was handed down. Subsequently, Efirdin responded on social media that he would respect the FA's decision and admitted that he should review his misconduct. At the same time, he emphasized his ability to pay the fine.
According to the Guangzhou club's publicly available pay scale, the team's three top starters are capped at $600,000 a year before taxes, the six starters are paid $420,000 a year, and the six starters' replacements are paid $300,000 a year. Even if Efirdine is getting paid the salaries of the starters, the fine is still far more than he earns in a month.
