The chairman of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) has reportedly apologised (albeit super privately) for a poster that told the national team to prepare for the “black, yellow and white” players of Hong Kong.
Talking on Commercial Radio yesterday, Hong Kong Football Association Chairman Brian Leung said the (vice) chairman of the CFA, Lin Xiaohua, phoned him to apologise.
According to Leung, who seems to be doing all the explaining for the CFA, the offending flier was created by a French designer (huh, typical!), who mentioned the players’ skin colour because of Hong Kong’s reputation as an international city.
The poster shows a huddle of Hong Kong players with the words: “Do not underestimate the opponent. This is a team with black, yellow and white-skinned players, a diverse team that we must prepare for.”
Unsurprisingly, it has been widely criticised as being racist.
Lin apparently claimed the poster was approved by a mainland advertising company and not the CFA.
If there’s any silver lining to this whole debacle, it’s that Leung hopes the controversy will encourage more spectators to watch the Hong Kong vs China match in Shenzhen on Sep. 3.
He urged fans not to boo the national anthem like they did at the match between Hong Kong and the Maldives on Tuesday, however, as it may upset the players.
If a bit of casual racism doesn’t toughen them up, we don’t know what will.
Source: EJI
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