WATCH: Soccer superstars are behaving really badly in China!
From Oscar to Carlos Tevez, it's clear that money can't buy classiness as the Chinese Super League stars go off the rails.
The massive brawl caused by former Chelsea star Oscar. Photo: STR/AFP.
As the Chinese Super League (CSL) hits the halfway point of the season this weekend, the megabucks lavished on imported players has triggered unprecedented interest.
But the headlines have been dominated by foreigners behaving badly.
Thankfully, nobody is chasing them out of the country … yet.
Oscar
The Brazilian international Oscar received a mammoth eight-game ban for sparking a mass brawl last week.
In a match against Guangzhou R&F, the former Chelsea attacking midfielder lashed the ball directly at two opponents.
It was clearly deliberate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EGjNgW0iIs
Ironically, Oscar – signed for an Asian-record 60 million euros in January – appeared to have settled well into life at Shanghai SIPG with a string of highly-rated performances.
Then came the rush of blood.
Carlos Tevez
Argentine forward Tevez has so far failed to ingratiate himself with fans at neighbouring Shanghai Shenhua.
He’s rumoured to be eyeing a move away from China despite signing a contract reported to be worth a staggering 38 million euros a year in January.
Tevez scored just his second goal for Shenhua last weekend as they beat bottom club Yanbian Funde 2-0 but his side is still languishing in eighth place in the 16-team CSL.
Rather callously, Tevez riled fans with a trip to Disneyland while his club was playing.
Hulk
The Brazilian forward, while flourishing with nine CSL goals on the pitch alongside Oscar, was also hauled before the Chinese Football Association (CFA) last month.
He faced allegations that he punched the Guizhou Zhicheng’s assistant coach and made anti-Chinese comments in the players’ tunnel at half-time.
The burly striker and the club both denied the claims and the CFA said there was “no evidence” against Hulk after an investigation.
Ezequiel Lavezzi
Lavezzi, another Argentine forward on big money following his move last year from Paris Saint-Germain to Hebei China Fortune, was told by the Chinese Football Association last month to “regulate his words and actions more”.
This after promotional photos emerged of him in a slant-eyed pose, causing outrage on social media.
It wasn’t in particularly good taste given his latest gig.
Burak Yilmaz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoFog0lyXmI
Beijing Guoan’s Turkish striker Burak Yilmaz was sent off on Monday night after appearing to slap an opponent during a melee at the end of a bad-tempered scoreless home draw with Fabio Capello’s Jiangsu Suning.
