'Gangster' Mao booted out of national team

Shanghai Shenhua player Mao Jianqing has been kicked out of the national team's training camp after he was charged with assault for a violent episode at a Shanghai restaurant and placed in custody for a week.

"The national team will not admit any one who acts like a gangster," an unidentified official from the Chinese Football Association (CFA) was quoted as saying by Titan Sports.

"Mao has good technique and moves on the field, and the national team coaches had high hopes of him, but with this scandalous behavior he has ruined his future international career," the official added, without clarifying whether Mao could be readmitted to the team at a later date.