September 26 – Shanghai SIPG coach Andre Villas-Boas has been fined for his outburst following the recent Asian Champions League quarterfinal tie against Guangzhou Evergrande.
The Asian Football Confederation says Villas-Boas must pay $14,000 for “bringing the game into disrepute.”
Villas-Boas “insulted the AFC referee” at the post-match news conference, and made comments “questioning the integrity and independence of the AFC and the referees.”
Shanghai, who led 4-0 from the first leg, advanced on a penalty shootout after Guangzhou, coached by Luiz Felipe Scolari, won the second leg 5-1 after extra time.
Afterwards Villas Boas, who managed both Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, blasted the AFC and the referee, claiming two-time champions Evergrande were receiving preferential treatment. He also accused Evergrande of dirty tricks including engineering a series of minor road accidents to delay the SIPG team bus as it travelled to the second-leg away clash.
Villas-Boas’s side face Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds at Saitama Stadium outside Tokyo on Wednesday in the first leg of the ACL semi-final.
The return is on October 18, with the winners facing either Iran’s Persepolis or Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia in the final in November.
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