Chinese player receives life ban

A player from the Tianjin soccer club who led an attack on a referee last weekend was banned for life on Thursday.

The penalty on Tianjin's Zhao Shitong, who along with his teammates chased down a referee during a qualifying match against the archrival Beijing team at China's 11th National Games, is the most severe punishment imposed by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) in the sport's history.

Zhao ran after referee He Zhibiao for over 100 meters after the referee red-carded three Tianjin players in the action-packed match, arousing unexpected fury among Tianjin players. But it's Zhao who behaved badly and even pushed the referee down to the ground.