Fresh blow for China national team as Guangzhou Evergrande punish key players
- Players hit with hefty fines
China’s national team suffered a fresh blow following their disappointing goalless draw against the Philippines with two players surprisingly punished by their club because of their attitude.
Wei Shihao and Yang Liyu, of Chinese Super league leaders Guangzhou Evergrande, had broken two rules under the club’s “International Player Eight Regulations” related to honour and work ethic, according to a club circular released on Friday.
The pair were each fined 300,000 yuan (US$42,300) and suspended for two matches. Wei and Yang were openly reprimanded by the club and were forced to attend a two-day, closed-door class to improve their professionalism.
At 24, Wei is one of the most promising strikers in China and played as a second-half substitute in the two previous qualifying matches against Maldives and Guam when China easily won 5-0 and 7-0 respectively.
However, he was suddenly dropped by China boss Marcello Lippi from the 23-member final squad ahead of Tuesday’s Philippines match, along with his clubmate Yang. China were held 0-0 by the Philippines in their group A match of the 2022 World Cup Asian zone qualifiers.
The circular accused both players of breaking rules number two and four. Rule two orders a player to feel a sense of honour to be selected by the national team and do their best to make it into the final squad.