Reporter Liu Xiangyu and Cheng Shan reported On the afternoon of September 27, the official website of the Chinese Football Association issued a punishment decision, suspending Guoan player Zhang Xizhe for 7 games and fining him 70,000 yuan. This means that Zhang Xizhe will not only miss the final four rounds of the league this season, but the ban will continue into the 2024 season. In this regard, the state security stated that it would appeal.
Guoan Club issued an official statement at the first time: Our club received the punishment decision issued by the Disciplinary Committee of the Chinese Football Association on the punishment of Beijing Guoan Football Club player Zhang Xizhe. In the 26th round of the 2023 Chinese Super League match between Changchun Yatai and Beijing Guoan, our team's No. 10 player Zhang Xizhe was suspended for 7 games and fined 70,000 yuan for non-sports behavior. Our club deeply regrets and is puzzled by this disciplinary action and will continue to argue for reason. In view of the punishment Zhang Xizhe faced this time, our club hopes that the Disciplinary Committee of the Chinese Football Association will provide more detailed substantive evidence. In addition, our club has suffered controversial penalties in a number of games this season as the team is in full swing in Asian competitions, and we need a positive response.
Last Friday, Guoan drew 1-1 away at Yatai, there were a number of controversial scenes in the game, and the on-duty referee Du Jianxin did not control the court well and the game was not smooth. Especially in the first half, handball was suspected in the Yatai penalty area, but VAR did not intervene, and Du Jianxin did not express anything, in this regard, the players on the Guoan bench expressed strong dissatisfaction. In the 89th minute, Zhang Xizhe was substituted, and in stoppage time, there was a conflict on the field, which affected the bench. The Chinese Football Association determined that Zhang Xizhe's violation occurred at this stage.
The day after the match, the Guoan Club immediately communicated with the Chinese Football Association and sorted out the six controversial penalty scenes in this match, hoping that the Football Association could attract attention. Guoan believes that in the past three or four games, the team has suffered several controversial penalties, and the club's morale has been hurt at the end of the league and at the crucial moment of the fight for a place in the AFC Champions League.
The Disciplinary Committee of the Chinese Football Association held an online hearing on the 24th on the punishment of Zhang Xizhe, attended by the National Security Club and Zhang Xizhe himself, at which Zhang Xizhe said that he had had fierce communication with the fourth official, but clearly stated that there was no "abusive" behavior.
The Guoan Club hopes that the Chinese Football Association will come up with concrete evidence in this regard, and if it is proved that Zhang Xizhe has abusive language, the Guoan Club will punish and educate the players internally according to the team rules; In the absence of concrete evidence, the club chooses to believe the player and will appeal.
For Zhang Xizhe's fine, this newspaper interviewed the relevant departments of the Football Association for the first time.
The ticket issued by the Disciplinary Committee of the Football Association explained that in the 90+1st minute of the 26th round of the Chinese Super League match between Changchun Yatai and Beijing Guoan, Zhang Xizhe on the bench rushed out of the technical area to commit non-sports acts, shouted insults to the fourth official and left the team's bench.
Looking back at the match played last Friday, Zhang Xizhe was substituted in the 89th minute and put on a logo vest and sat on the bench. At this time, there was a scene of players from both sides pushing each other on the field, referee Du Jianxin was busy dealing with the situation on the field, and Zhang Xizhe rushed out of the bench to negotiate with the fourth official Hei Xiaohu and loudly insult the latter. Hei Xiaohu immediately told Du Jianxin through headphones that Zhang Xizhe had insulted the game officials, and the latter walked to the sidelines to punish Zhang Xizhe. Seeing this, Zhang Xizhe took off his logo uniform and went straight back to the dressing room. Du Jianxin explicitly asked the national security management team to call Zhang Xizhe back to the bench to face punishment, but his request was not met.
After the match, the Disciplinary Committee of the Chinese Football Association learned the whole story of the matter based on the referee's report, the match supervision report and the on-site video, and held an online hearing on the 24th, finding that Zhang Xizhe insulted the referee and punished him in accordance with the "Disciplinary Guidelines of the Chinese Football Association" (hereinafter referred to as the "Disciplinary Code").
It is understood that Article 54 of the Disciplinary Guidelines specifically mentions the circumstances in which "improper conduct against a match official" should be subject to additional punishment, and paragraph (1) of it stipulates that "anyone who commits non-sporting behavior (accusation, using offensive, insulting or abusive language, gestures or movements) shall be suspended from the game or banned from entering the bench or prohibited from entering the stadium (hall) for 5 games, and shall be fined at least 50,000 yuan." ”
According to this additional punishment provision, Zhang Xizhe will be fined for at least five games for publicly insulting the fourth official.
In addition, Article 48 of the "Disciplinary Guidelines" stipulates that "personnel on the bench violate discipline" and "shall be severely punished", and Zhang Xizhe rushed out from the bench to insult the fourth official, which also corresponds to the provision of heavier punishment.
This season, the Football Association has issued a similar fine to Wei Shihao, a player from Three Towns, in addition to the red card natural suspension of 1 game, and 6 additional suspensions, adding up to 7 games. At that time, Wei Shihao was insulting the first assistant referee.
Compared with Zhang Xizhe and Wei Shihao's violations of discipline, the Disciplinary Committee of the Chinese Football Association believes that the two are roughly equivalent in terms of circumstances, nature and adverse effects, so the punishment for actual suspension is basically the same.