Chinese footballer banned 10 years for attacking referee

A Chinese player has been banned for 10 years and another for five years after attacking a referee who showed one of their teammates a second yellow card.

The incident occurred during a match between Huantai Classic FC and Zibo Industrial Institution (ZII) on October 18, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said.

According to reports, the referee was accosted by the two players after showing a second yellow card to teammate Zhou Peilin.

During the argument, Jiang Wei, who was banned for five years, was alleged to have pushed and kicked the ref while Zhang Don grabbed his red and yellow cards as well as the fourth official's match report.

The referee abandoned the match when the ZII team left the field before the 90 minutes were up.

“We will never tolerate such disgraceful behaviour in our own city league,” said Zibo FA General Secretary Wang Xuejun.

“Anyone who misbehaves and doesn't respect sportsmanship and fair play in football will be punished. We are proud of our Zibo City league, therefore everyone must take good care of it.”

The Zibo City League is part of the AFC's Vision China Project.

The incident was the latest to mar football in China, with the national league previously mired in corruption and gambling scandals as well as dismal fan attendance numbers.