A Chinese national soccer player is getting backlash from his own countrymen for trying to downplay his apparent unsportsmanlike conduct during an international match.
Jiang Zhipeng was one of the players on the Chinese team playing against the Japanese national team at the EAFF E-1 Football Championship in South Korea on Tuesday.
During their game, Jiang landed a kick on the head of Japanese footballer Daiki Hashioka who was going for the ball. The incident was judged as a foul and Jiang received a yellow card for his actions.
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In his defense of the move, Jiang blamed Hashioka for hitting his foot “with his head.”
Some Chinese fans actually cheered Jiang for kicking the Japanese player, with a few calling him a patriot online, reports Shanghaiist.
However, when Jiang’s comments indicating that it was Hashioka’s fault emerged, social media users in China turned against him.
“I’ve never seen such a shameless person,” a sports fan remarked on Weibo.
Meanwhile, others made light of the situation, with one commenter saying, ”Only Chinese football can bring Chinese and Japanese together.”
The game ended with Japan beating China 2 to 1.
Feature Image via Apple Daily
