China cracks down on football violence

Cui Peng

The state of the game in China is pretty poor. The athletic standards are low and most games turn into impromptu martial arts tournament, forcing the decision makers to pull Chinese football from domestic TV. So the authorities brought in Nan Yong to shape up the game and one of his first moves was to suspend young star Cui Peng for five games along with a record fine after he threw and elbow in a game - one which didn’t receive a red card. Just adding to Cui’s pretty impressive, and strange, rap sheet at the tender age of 21.
“We are taking zero tolerance to any unethical behaviour to ensure the healthy development of the sport,” Nan told reporters on the eve of the new season.

So what does Cui’s unethical rap sheet include?

Cui, 21, was kicked out of the China under-23 team for playing internet games all night during the 2006 Asian Games, and has also been fined by his club for crashing his car when drunk and returning late from national duty.