BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Former Chinese international Li Yi said Brazilian player Henrique Dourado is in for further punishment after he was sent off for knocking over the referee in a Chinese Super League game on Sunday.
In the 15th minute of the Wuhan Yangtze River's home match against Henan Songshan Longmen, Dourado ran straight at the referee Ma Ning from behind and knocked the match official over. After reviewing through VAR, Ma sent the Henan striker off.
"I was left in total shock by Dourado's misconduct which resulted in a red card," Li said.
"That's an act of violence committed on a match official, which will be surely further punished."
"No matter what happens on the pitch, you need to keep your self-control," Li added.
According to Chinese Football Association (CFA) rules, any act of violence committed on match officials by players, including elbowing, punching and kicking, will incur a suspension of at least six months.
Henan Songshan Longmen said in the wake of the Dourado incident that they are ready to accept any penalty the CFA gives them or their players.
The Henan club said they will mete out their own punishment including fines, suspensions and contract terminations on players who have been shown red cards for on-pitch misbehavior. ■
