Comedian shown red card by soccer club

A crosstalk actor with the popular Deyun Society comedians was forced to apologize to a local soccer club and its supporters late Sunday for what he called an "innocent insult" during a stage performance.

Gao Feng, a 26-year-old comedian from Beijing's rival city of Tianjin, angered some Beijing soccer fans after he made a series of jokes about China's notorious professional soccer league as well as last season's league champion Beijing Guo'an Football Club during a Spring Festival performance in Tianjin.

"I can stand before Tian'anmen Square and swear that Beijing Guo'an never deserved the league title," Gao was quoted as saying in his performance "No Crosstalk, But Soccer" last Tuesday. "The fact that the whole team wears green jerseys tells us everything."