Hong Kong Football Association fined $3,000 for fans booing China’s national anthem
Well, that oughta put an end to that
The Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) has escaped with a mere slap on the wrist after fans booed the Chinese national anthem, once again, at the start of an Asian Cup qualifying match against Lebanon last month.
A fine of just $3,000 has been handed out by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for fans greeting the playing of the “March of the Volunteers” inside Hong Kong Stadium with now customary boos, turned backs, and middle fingers.
Hong Kong football fans have been loudly voicing their disapproval of China’s national anthem at every home match for more than two years now. The HKFA was twice fined by FIFA in 2015 for its fans booing the anthem, but this is the first time that the AFC has doled out any kind of punishment for what is now becoming a pre-game ritual.
While the AFC has warned that a repeat violation will incur a more severe punishment, HKFA chairman Brian Leung Hung-tak apparently isn’t too worried about further fines breaking the bank.
“We don’t want to comment on the amount as it is still a fine, but I think the AFC understands our situation since our hands are tied in the incident,” he is quoted by the South China Morning Post as saying. “We have repeatedly appealed to fans [to not boo the national anthem] and there is nothing more we can do. I hope we can get past all these incidents. There is a long time before we have our next international home game.”
By that time, however, a new law against disrespecting the Chinese national anthem will be adopted into Hong Kong legislation. Back in October, mockery of the anthem was made illegal in mainland China. About a month later, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress included this new National Anthem Law into Hong Kong’s Basic Law, now it is only awaiting finalization by the special administrative region’s government.
On Saturday, a pair of students at the Hong Kong College of Technology found out just what this law could mean for the city after they were kicked out of their own graduation ceremony for failing to stand for China’s national anthem after being warned against remaining seated.
[Images via hk01]
