BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Two players have been given match bans and fines by Asian champions Guangzhou Evergrande following an on-field fight during a reserve teams' game on Monday afternoon, said the Chinese Super League (CSL) side.
According to the CSL club, both Wang Junhui and Situ Hualong were banned for one match and fined 200,000 Chinese yuan (about 31,700 US dollars). Besides, they were not allowed to transfer or loan within their contract periods, with their monthly salary cut down to the minimum amount of the club, about 1,895 yuan per month.
The incident occurred in 35th minute during the match against Shandong Luneng, which was interrupted for seven minutes. After Wang and Situ broke into a brawl, the referee booked Wang with a red card, and Situ a yellow one.
The coaches and managers of the clubs were also fined.
Guangzhou Evergrande have been known for their quick decisions in terms of harsh punishment for players' misbehavior.
Brazilian forward Alan Carvalho was fined 100,000 yuan for elbowing Tianjin Quanjian's Liu Yiming right after their CSL's fourth round game on March 30.
"Evergrande players have to lead by example with discipline, and respect for the referees, the opponents and teammates. Anyone who violates these rules is going to pay a price," said the Evergrande.
However, indiscipline is never rare in the Chinese football league.
Former Chelsea midfielder Oscar was banned for eight matches and fined by the Chinese football authorities in June 2017, after he was judged to incite a mass brawl in Shanghai SIPG's tie with Guangzhou R&F.
Shandong Luneng's Brazilian coach Cuca was banned from the pitch for seven months starting from June 6, 2015, after a clash with linesman Zhan Wei during a CSL match against Guizhou Renhe on June 4.
"Cuca was pulling and shouting at the linesman on and off the pitch, and took part in the attacking of the linesman in the players lanes, which had a very bad impression," said the Chinese Football Association (CFA).
Guangzhou Evergrande took their first CSL title in 2011 after promotion, and recorded seven successive CSL titles by 2017. Also, the Evergrande are the only Chinese club to win AFC Champions League twice, in 2013 and 2015.
In the 2018 AFC Champions League, the two-time champions remain atop of Group G with one round to play, one above Cerezo Osaka of Japan and three ahead of Buriram. Jeju United of South Korea are already eliminated with three points.
