Season over for Guangzhou Evergrande’s brawling pair as CFA bans them for 10 months and fines them another HK$200,000
Careers on the line for Wang Junhui and Situ Haolong after lengthy suspension, while players need to stump up HK$500,000 on minimum wage
The pair have been handed 10-month bans from playing by Chinese football’s governing body, meaning they cannot play until the start of the 2019 season next February, and fined an additional ¥200,000 (HK$249,640).
Wang, 22, and Situ, 20, have been pictured undergoing their punishment at the club’s offices.
This 10-month hiatus from the game will no doubt prove damaging to their burgeoning careers, essentially forcing them to take a year off.
Social media users have pointed to the injustice of the punishment as Wang was more to blame for the incident and Situ only received a yellow card from the referee.
While Wang is registered for the main squad and reported to earn ¥10 million per year it is more difficult for Situ, who has not played for the first team, to pay the fines. Others have pointed out that the combined fines are enough to put down a deposit on a house in Guangzhou.
O vídeo da confusão entre Wang Jinhui e Situ Hailong. Sempre rápido, o Guangzhou Evergrande já anunciou que punirá a dupla em ¥ 200 mil (R$ 106.760) além de suspendê-los. pic.twitter.com/diH7VPsk6W— Leonardo Hartung (@HartungLeo) 11 April 2018
Earlier this week Evergrande’s Brazilian forward Alan was suspended for eight games for throwing an elbow at Tianjin Quanjian’s Liu Yiming in matchday four. This is a blow to Fabio Cannavaro’s side as they look to win an eighth straight title.
The champions are currently three points behind league leaders Shanghai SIPG in the table, with five wins from five the best start to a season in Chinese Super League history.
Both teams play Friday night with Evergrande travelling to Shanghai to play Shenhua before SIPG host Hebei China Fortune.
The teams do not meet until matchday 13 which takes place after the CSL resumes from its summer break in July. The rematch is scheduled for November.