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Players suspended indefinitely after brawl

By Lei Lei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-14 07:58

Basketball players from China and Brazil trade punches during an ugly brawl in their friendly game on Tuesday in Xuchang, Henan province. [Provided to China Daily]

BEIJING - Chinese basketball authorities have suspended the men's national team indefinitely after its brawl with Brazilian players during a friendly match on Tuesday night.

"This incident has exposed the lax administration and the educational shortcomings of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA)," said Li Jinsheng, vice-president of the association.

"The CBA takes full responsibility for this," he said. "We have ordered the team to suspend its training and to reflect upon its mistakes deeply.

"The CBA sincerely apologizes to the Brazilian team, all the fans and media."

Players exchanged punches and kicks just one minute, six seconds into the match on Tuesday night - the third one between the teams - at Xuchang in Central China's Henan province.

The game was stopped and the Brazilians headed to the locker room. The Chinese players gave chase and the sides fought again.

The friendlies are part of China's preparations for next month's Asian Games in Guangzhou. The teams were tied 1-1 after two matches.

An assistant coach of the national team, former player Li Nan, also apologized for the team's behavior on his micro-blog.

"I know our behavior has hurt all the people that support China basketball and may have a very bad influence on society. I hope all the people can forgive our rude behavior. I am sorry. We will learn lessons from this and try to build up the image of the team again by our practical actions," he wrote.

No penalties have been announced, but the CBA has vowed to mete out punishment after careful investigation.

"We will communicate with more people that were involved in the affair. Different penalties may be given to different members of the squad," said Li Jinsheng.

"We will be sure to announce the punishments before the Asian Games," he said.

It's not the first time the China men's basketball team has been involved in a fracas.

At the 2005 Stankovic Basketball Cup in Beijing, a fight erupted between Chinese players and the visiting Puerto Rico team. Several Chinese players were fined afterwards.

"We will report the results of our investigations to the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and FIBA Asia," Li Jinsheng said. "The CBA is always strict in the sense of discipline. We will educate our players that fighting spirit on the court is not the same as rudeness."