The 26-year-old backbone Guan Haojin is the second-oldest player of the Guangzhou team in this year’s AFC Champions League. He led a group of young players to Johor Bahru, Malaysia to play in Group I. Yesterday, he was selected for a foul and fell to the ground in 70 minutes, and then deliberately kicked the opponent. Striker Bergchen led the red and was expelled. The Guangzhou team later announced that Guan Haojin had seriously violated the team’s “three-nine team rules” and was immediately dismissed; the coaching staff was not strictly disciplined, and the coach Pan Yonghe was punished with a three-level pay cut and a one-level pay cut for the assistant coach. The Guangzhou team added that “insisting on strict words first, and managing words first”, and firmly implemented a clear reward and punishment mechanism, hoping that players and coaches will strictly abide by the team rules. Guan Haojin said on his personal Weibo that he was willing to accept the punishment, adding that the foul was “failed to hold back the action for a moment.”
Many mainland sports reporters believe that considering that these players have no experience in competitions, the club should give them the opportunity to make corrections and impose fines or suspensions instead of ruining the players’ careers. The club’s (club’s) punching bag has no positive effect on other young players, but is rather chilling!” Reporter Niu Zhiming further said: “If you don’t play well, you will be fired? What is this rule? When the contract is a decoration?”
Under the influence of factors such as the collision period of the Chinese Super League season and the round-trip isolation of the epidemic, Shanghai Haigang and Changchun Yatai retired before the game. Shandong and Guangzhou maintained their participation in the AFC Champions League, but only sent the U21 reserve group. The two teams lost a total of 12 in their first match. Both goalkeepers conceded the ball due to serious errors. Last season’s Chinese Super League champion Shandong Taishan lost 0:7 to FC Daegu in Group F, tying Beijing Guoan’s previous biggest defeat in the AFC Champions League. There have been reports that the Asian Football Association is dissatisfied with the Chinese Super League’s sending youth troops to participate in the two consecutive AFC Champions League.