Chinese football season climax marred by brawls, red cards, raging players as Shanghai Port clinch Super League title
- Four players and Port coach Javier Pereira sent off as Chinese Super League title decider hits boiling point
- Port and main rivals Shandong Taishan await potential ramifications after both were reduced to nine men
Chinese Super League heavyweights Shanghai Port and Shandong Taishan were awaiting potential sanctions from the country’s football authorities on Monday after a powderkeg climax to the title race.
The biggest game of the campaign on Sunday finished in a 1-1 draw, clinching the championship for hosts Shanghai.
But the contest descended into chaos, with referee Mametjan Ahmet issuing five red cards, one of them for combustible Port manager Javier Pereira, amid volatile scenes – including a brawl – at a seething Pudong Football Stadium.
Spaniard Pereira’s team had been threatening an implosion, suffering four defeats from seven games to toss away a near-impregnable position at the top.
The pressure told on Sunday, when they hosted closest pursuers Shandong, who also lost their heads as they chased their championship dream.
Shanghai had a five-point lead and needed only a point to secure the silverware with a match to spare. And they were on track at 1-0 up, only for goalscorer Lu Wenjun to earn a second booking after 41 minutes, following a scrap with Chen Pu.
Emotions were running hot, and a brawl exploded in the Shanghai box, with referee Ahmet identifying two prime culprits.
Shandong’s Moises Magalhaes was ordered off, then Ahmet consulted his pitchside monitor and spotted Cai Hukang grabbing Moises around the throat. Pereira blew his top following Cai’s dismissal and the 57-year-old, too, was sent off.
Substitute Fernandinho smacked a post, only to exit 15 minutes early. Scythed down by Li Shuai, who went into the book, Fernandinho earned red by shoving the left-back to the ground.
Shandong made all the remaining running, spearheaded by former Everton and Manchester United forward Marouane Fellaini – one of eight players booked.
And coach Choi Kang-hee’s team set up a grandstand finish when Xie Wenneng pounced on the rebound after Yan Junling saved from Cryzan Barcelos.
Shandong mustered 20 shots to their opponents’ four, with Lu’s goal coming from Shanghai’s only attempt on target, but Port held out to claim their second league crown, following a first in 2018.
Video shows Ghana football ace punching Chinese player over ‘racist insults’
Shanghai forward Wu Lei made no mention of the on-field carnage when he posted a celebratory message on Chinese social media site Weibo.
“Our players on the field fought with the hopes of their teammates and fans off the field until the end,” Wu wrote.
“I will always be here to defend my great dream. This is the dream of each of us, you are great enough ... we are the champions.”
Leaving a more lasting impression, however, was the lack of discipline from two of China’s most prestigious clubs, with football authorities left to consider possible punishments after the country’s marquee club match was overshadowed.
The Post has approached the Chinese FA for comment.
