For all to see, the Chinese men's soccer team's two preparatory matches in Chengdu started with a draw and a loss that stirred the emotions of the fans. The national team's performance was disappointing despite the outpouring of support from the Chengdu region, but a move by the CFA at the end of the warm-up tournament came as quite a surprise.
The Chengdu tournament was once again heavily penalized by the Football Association (FA) for the so-called irregularities in the Chinese Super League, and the FA's choice to announce the decision only after the national football team's warm-up matches was clearly well thought out.
Controversial penalties in the Chinese Super League have also sparked strong discontent among fans, with Chengdu fans using the word "black" in their home stadium to express their protest against the league's many controversial decisions, which the Football Association seems to have turned a blind eye to.
Now that the FA's move has offended the Chengdu Region, many media sources have predicted that the Chengdu Region may be disqualified from hosting the national soccer team's home matches in the upcoming national soccer world qualifiers. Another possibility is that the Chengdu Region may also refuse to host the World Qualifier tournament due to consecutive punishments from the FA.
The successive penalties have left the Chengdu region with a sense of grievance, and the FA's move has been seen by many fans as a "bridge too far" and a failure to respect the bottom line. Controversial refereeing decisions in the Chinese Super League have become the focus of the season, but the FA has not taken effective measures to improve the professionalism of the referees, but instead severely penalized the team that challenged the referees.
Facing Malaysia at home, the Chinese men's soccer team couldn't even win, and facing Thailand in the World Qualifier, I'm afraid the situation of the national soccer team is not optimistic. Against this backdrop, many Chinese Super League (CSL) home grounds may be resistant to the arrival of the national soccer team. As a result, any problems may be magnified once the team performs poorly.
