August 6 – Chinese authorities have pledged to investigate reports that Senegalese striker Demba Ba was subjected to racial slurs by an opponent at the weekend vowing “stern punishment” if the incident is true.
The former Chelsea forward, now with Shanghai Shenhua, became embroiled in a heated exchange with Changchun Yatai midfielder Zhang Li late in their 1-1 Chinese Super League draw after Ba collided with one of Zhang’s team-mates.
Various Chinese media reports said a furious Ba later claimed that Zhang made racially insulting remarks.
The Chinese Football Association (FA) said in a statement that it would hold hearings to determine whether any league conduct rules were violated.
“If this is true, there will be stern punishment in accordance with the rules,” it said. “We oppose racist behaviour in any form.”In his post-match press conference, Shenhua coach Wu Jingui condemned the incident.
“We had an unpleasant incident in the game,” he told reporters. “Demba Ba was very angry. Later, I learnt that a Yatai player used insulting language toward him (Ba). Around the world, it has been stressed that there should be no insulting speech toward black athletes.”
“The Chinese Super League has players of many different skin colours. We should respect our opponents and there should be no discrimination.”
Postings on Chinese social media as well as news media reports called for an immediate investigation. Ba also retweeted on his Twitter account a post calling for “serious disciplinary actions” over the incident.
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