Rules governing soccer ban political provocations

The Chinese Football Association announced on Sunday that the nation's Under-20 team will return home from Germany after indefinitely suspending the plan for the team to play a series of friendlies with German fourth division teams after Tibetan "independence flags" were unfurled at a match in Mainz.

The team only agreed to continue playing in the televised match against TSV Schott Mainz after the protesters took down the flags.

While it might be argued that it would have been hard to prevent the flags entering the stadium, that does not excuse the German Football Association, which organized the matches, of its response.