Chinese FA's Punishments Lacking 'Consistency And Transparency'

With "global interest in Chinese football growing," the Chinese FA has been busy "dishing out bans, fines or warnings" for on- and off-field misdemeanors that would "go unpunished or receive a mere wrist slap in most countries," according to the AFP. Kicking a water bottle "in anger" results in a 15,000 yuan ($2,160) fine and a three-game ban. Attempting to guess the "harsh extent" of the CFA’s weekly punishments "has become something of a sport itself among fans who vent their exasperation online." Chinese football "has come under increasing official scrutiny in recent years" after Chinese President Xi Jinping "expressed ambitions of Chinese football someday rivalling the world’s best." Sports marketing firm Red Lantern Dir Ji Zhe said that the "rash of punishments" showed a "lack of consistency and transparency about the rules." Zhe: "The severity of the bans is perhaps also another way for the CFA and the CSL to exert control and practice an old Chinese saying, 'Kill the chicken to scare the monkey'" (AFP, 8/15).