China’s Shandong Taishan club abruptly announced its withdrawal on February 19 from the East Asia playoffs of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite, the highest-level soccer club competition in Asia. Voice of America (VOA) reported that the reason for Taishan club’s withdrawal was that fans of the opposing team, South Korea’s Ulsan HD, were planning to display images related to “June 4, 1989” (the day of the infamous Tiananmen Square Massacre, a topic that is censored in Mainland China) during the February 19 match between Shandong Taishan and Ulsan HD.
On February 11, during Shandong Taishan’s home match against South Korea’s Gwangju FC, some Chinese fans displayed a photo of Chun Doo-hwan, South Korea’s former president. Chun led a military regime, was responsible for the suppression of pro-democracy protesters during the 1980 Gwangju Uprising and is widely regarded in South Korea as a dictator. After South Korea democratized in 1987, Chun was sentenced to prison. The display of his image by Chinese fans was seen in South Korean as a political provocation. This is likely what motivated the reported plans by South Korean fans to display Tiananmen-Massacre related images.
In withdrawing from the playoffs, Taishan club forfeited its chance to advance to the round of 16 in the tournament. The club cited “severe physical discomfort among players, making it impossible to field a team.”
Source: VOA, February 22, 2025
https://www.voachinese.com/a/shandong-team-withdraw-from-tournament-after-fans-display-images-of-korean-dictator/7983556.html