China’s professional football league on Saturday imposed a fine of 60,000 euros on first division club Chengdu Rongcheng FC, some of whose supporters hurled racist insults at Ghanaian Frank Acheampong, who plays for Henan FC.
The case occurred on October 31, during an away match, when his team faced Chengdu Rongcheng FC, based in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province (southwest of the country), on the final day of the championship. “The despicable act, filmed and widely distributed on social media, including monkey cries mocking the Ghanaian player’s skin color and middle finger, was repeated several times,” according to the Global Times, an official Chinese newspaper.
During the match, some Chengdu Rongcheng FC fans “made comments and engaged in discriminatory and insulting behavior” towards Frank Acheampong, the league condemned in a press release on Saturday. Its disciplinary committee later fined the club 500,000 yuan (61,000 euros) and closed part of the stands for a match.
Individual sanctions for two men
Two men aged 37 and 41 were arrested shortly after the match and placed in administrative detention (an act of deprivation of liberty that can theoretically last from one to 20 days), according to Chengdu police. They were also sentenced to a 12-month ban from entering sports venues to attend “similar” competitions, according to the same source.
The insults experienced by Frank Acheampong were criticized by netizens. “On behalf of the Chengdu fans, I apologize to you. I’m sorry guys. Congratulations on your win. I’m embarrassed by the behavior of some of our supporters,” wrote a user named “aobilibili” in English on the player’s Instagram account.
According to the rules of the Chinese Football Federation, any audience-disparaging comments or behavior towards a person because of their ethnic group, color, gender, language or religion may be subject to sanctions. Clubs will be subject to fines of at least 500,000 yuan (61,000 euros), the closure of stands and matches behind closed doors.
