BEIJING, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Super League (CSL) administration on Wednesday issued a strong condemnation of fans for showing an insulting portrait of a referee in a Sunday match.
The CSL called it "an insulting banner incident" during Henan Songshan Longmen's home game against Guangzhou FC, when some fans held up a black and white portrait of referee Ma Ning resembling a dead person.
"This incident has caused grave damage to the image of Chinese football and the CSL as well as immense harm to the victim," the CSL said in a statement.
"The CSL committee strongly condemns those fans who committed this insulting act," the statement added.
Ma did not serve as a match official for the game which the Henan side won 2-1.
During the match, Henan fans also raised banners saying farewell to their Brazilian striker Henrique Dourado, who was banned for 12 months after purposedly knocking Ma over in a game ten days ago. ■
