HK ‘friendly’ aftermath: Football fans face ban

Philippines 1-0 Hong Kong. Photo from HKFA website.

The Hong Kong Football Association on Thursday vowed to ban supporters of its team found guilty of racially abusing Filipino fans during and after the friendly against the Philippines at Mong Kok Stadium Tuesday night.

This developed as the Filipino supporters who complained about the incident got the backing of the Equal Opportunities Commission of Hong Kong, according to a report from the English daily South China Morning Post.

The Azkals won the match, 1-0, but home fans pelted the players and their supporters, many of them women and children, with water bottles and other debris after the match.

The Inquirer, quoting some Filipino fans, said that a section of the Hong Kong gallery referred to them as coming from a “slave nation.” The same Hong Kong supporters also booed when the Philippine national anthem was played earlier.

One fan said she saw a streamer that carried the slogan “8.23.10 Lest we forget,” referring to the date of the hostage-taking incident in Manila’s Quirino Grandstand where seven Hong Kong tourists and their guide were shot dead by a dismissed police officer.

Delegation head and Azkals manager Dan Palami was to submit a report of the incident to the Philippine Football Federation.

“We’ve played on hostile grounds before but we did not expect our supporters to also be treated that way,” said Palami. “The HKFA actually did a terrific job in hosting us.”

PFF general secretary Ed Gastanes said HKFA could be held liable if reports of racial abuse were true. The international football federation recently implemented stricter rules on racism.

HKFA chief executive Mark Sutcliffe said they have yet to receive a complaint on the incident although he vowed to take strong action if allegations are proven true.