Source: China Real Time, WSJ (11/18/15)
In 0-0 Draw, Hong Kong Soccer Fans ‘Boo’ Chinese Anthem — On Paper
By Isabella Steger and Marco Huang.
Hong Kong’s World Cup qualifier soccer match against China ended without any serious incidents, but the city’s team could possibly face severe punishment at its next match.
Fans defied warnings from the Hong Kong Football Association against booing the Chinese national anthem at Tuesday night’s match. The body was fined by soccer’s global governing body last month for booing at earlier matches against Qatar and Bhutan. Hong Kong soccer officials had warned that there could be serious consequences, such as being forced to play behind closed doors, if fans continued their booing.
The match ended in a 0-0 tie, though both sides had good chances and several shots unluckily hit the post or crossbar. The two sides also ended in a goalless draw in the first leg played in Shenzhen in September.
A total of 6,071 fans filled Mong Kok Stadium, with about 500 fans from the mainlandoccupying one small corner, and only allowed to enter and exit the stadium via a separate passageway to avoid any confrontations with Hong Kong fans. Officials had earlier decided against holding the match at the much larger Hong Kong Stadium, citing problems with the turf.
Li Biyou, a 25 year-old software developer living in Shenzhen, said he and a few hundred other “fans of the Dragon team” –referring to the Chinese team’s nickname — gathered in Shenzhen on Tuesday afternoon to cross the border together. Speaking before kick-off, Mr. Li, who was wearing a red afro wig, said he was confident that China would win because the “the more they fight, the stronger they are,” especially after the team delivered a 12-0 drubbing against Bhutan last week.
Hong Kong fans hold signs and banners reading “Hong Kong is not China” at the 2018 World Cup qualifying match between Hong Kong and China, in Hong Kong, China Nov. 17, 2015. Reuters
Hong Kong Fans Boo Chinese National Anthem
The Hong Kong fans were boisterous and unforgiving in voicing their opposition to the mainland Chinese visitors, at a time when political tensions between the two sides are running high. Fans wore T-shirts and held signs with slogans such as “Support Your Own People” and “Hong Kong is Not China” and chanted “We are Hong Kong” while sticking up their middle fingers, even shouting profanities at the other side.
“Hong Kong has freedom of speech and people should be allowed to exercise that,” said 17-year-old student Bowie Lee. She said she only held up a piece of paper with the word “boo” on it rather than saying it as she understood why the HKFA didn’t want fans to heckle the national anthem.
Wayne Ho, 21, a student and former under-16 player for the Hong Kong soccer team, said he understood why people booed the anthem, but said that as a soccer player himself he thinks it’s important for people to respect each other’s teams.
As the elated Hong Kong fans filed out of the stadium, they were greeted by some supporters who were waving the Hong Kong colonial flag.
China last qualified for the World Cup in 2002, and President Xi Jinping – a soccer fan himself –has pledged to boost the sport’s development in the country. In 2011, he voiced his three wishes for Chinese soccer: For China to qualify for the World Cup finals, host a World Cup and win a World Cup.
Those World Cup hopes now look to be dashed, at least for the time being, as Tuesday night’s draw means China has little chance of progressing to the next round of qualifiers. Both teams must compete to be among the four-best second-placed teams in the group; in order to advance, China would have to win its final two games against the Maldives and group winners Qatar in March. Hong Kong plays away against Qatar in March.
Many mainland Chinese fans, with their World Cup qualification chances hanging by a thread, were understandably upset at their team’s performance.
“Even though we had some bad luck…we truly played really awful tonight,” said Yang Chengchen, 25, a graduate student at Tsinghua University in Beijing. “At the end of the day, we just weren’t good enough. We didn’t have enough skill or luck.”
As for the behavior of Hong Kong fans, Mr. Yang said he “didn’t appreciate it.”
“Politics should not override sports. Sports is sports,” he said.
Hong Kong fans will soon know whether they will be penalized further for their actions.
–Isabella Steger and Marco Huang. Follow Isabella on Twitter @stegersaurus.