London team Queen's Park Rangers, of the Championship (the second tier in English football after the Premiership) played a friendly game against China's 2008 Olympic team.
Little did QPR know that it would end in a kung fu brawl between the teams, with even spectators joining in for good measure.....
China's friendly football match with QPR ends in a kung fu brawl
By Martin Beckford
09/02/2007
China's Olympic sportsmen captivated a west London crowd this week with energetic displays of karate, kung fu and boxing. The only problem is that they were supposed to be playing football.
A still from the video of the brawl
A supposed "friendly" match between China's under-23 squad and an 11 from Championship side Queen's Park Rangers descended into a 30-man brawl with spectators joining in as well as players. Police and paramedics were also called as a Chinese defender suffered a suspected broken jaw and had to be taken to hospital by ambulance.
Video footage of the match at QPR's Harlington training ground shows that a Chinese player grabbed an opponent round the neck and wrapped his legs round his waist as he rained blows on him. As the pair fell to the ground, one of his Chinese teammates pushed another QPR player before almost every man on the pitch rushed to join in the melee.
Dermot Gallagher, a Premiership referee, was forced to abandon the match. One Chinese player, Zheng Tao, was taken to hospital, reportedly with two cracks in his jaw. Another, Gao Lin, admitted lashing out but claimed he was provoked. He said:
"When facing the provocation, I failed to respect opponents and not strike back – and that caused the incident. I sincerely apologise to the fans."
Li Xiaoguang, the Chinese Olympic team manager, said in a statement: "The incident that happened at QPR training ground has hurt the image of the Chinese Olympic team. As the team manager, I would like, on behalf of the team to make an official apology to all fans supporting our team, as well as to all media friends."
The Football Association will study video footage and the referee's match report before deciding whether to bring charges against QPR.
The Chinese team had been invited to stay at Chelsea's training complex in Cobham, Surrey, for a two-week trip intended to boost the Premiership club's profile in Asia.
THE GREAT BRAWL OF CHINA
telegraph.co.uk
Little did QPR know that it would end in a kung fu brawl between the teams, with even spectators joining in for good measure.....
China's friendly football match with QPR ends in a kung fu brawl
By Martin Beckford
09/02/2007
China's Olympic sportsmen captivated a west London crowd this week with energetic displays of karate, kung fu and boxing. The only problem is that they were supposed to be playing football.
A still from the video of the brawl
A supposed "friendly" match between China's under-23 squad and an 11 from Championship side Queen's Park Rangers descended into a 30-man brawl with spectators joining in as well as players. Police and paramedics were also called as a Chinese defender suffered a suspected broken jaw and had to be taken to hospital by ambulance.
Video footage of the match at QPR's Harlington training ground shows that a Chinese player grabbed an opponent round the neck and wrapped his legs round his waist as he rained blows on him. As the pair fell to the ground, one of his Chinese teammates pushed another QPR player before almost every man on the pitch rushed to join in the melee.
Dermot Gallagher, a Premiership referee, was forced to abandon the match. One Chinese player, Zheng Tao, was taken to hospital, reportedly with two cracks in his jaw. Another, Gao Lin, admitted lashing out but claimed he was provoked. He said:
"When facing the provocation, I failed to respect opponents and not strike back – and that caused the incident. I sincerely apologise to the fans."
Li Xiaoguang, the Chinese Olympic team manager, said in a statement: "The incident that happened at QPR training ground has hurt the image of the Chinese Olympic team. As the team manager, I would like, on behalf of the team to make an official apology to all fans supporting our team, as well as to all media friends."
The Football Association will study video footage and the referee's match report before deciding whether to bring charges against QPR.
The Chinese team had been invited to stay at Chelsea's training complex in Cobham, Surrey, for a two-week trip intended to boost the Premiership club's profile in Asia.
THE GREAT BRAWL OF CHINA
telegraph.co.uk
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