Tibetan flag makes Chinese soccer team stop the game being played in Germany as report in the media. The U20 Chinese soccer team who were in Germany to play a series of friendly matches with the German football clubs during their off weekends and the Chinese team stopped playing game when several Tibetan flags were displayed.
“China’s U-20 side walked off the pitch during their first match in Germany after TSV Schott Mainz fans revealed a Tibet flag. The friendly was delayed for 25 minutes before fans agreed to put the flag away, resulting in the Chinese side returning to the pitch.” said the report in Goal.com.
In the controversial friendly match against the Chinese U20 selection with TSV Schott Mainz, a small group of spectators started a political protest against the Chinese. Six men and women, allegedly representatives of the “Tibet Initiative Germany” and Tibetan refugees, have revealed several Tibetan flags to draw attention to the human rights situation in China, which has been annexed by China.
As a result, the Chinese national team refused to continue playing. Only when the six packed their flags away again, the game could be continued after a break of about 15 minutes.
Both the German Football Association(DFB) representatives present as on-site observers, and the hosts TSV Schott Mainz pointed out that Tibetan flags are not prohibited in Germany and saw no reason to intervene. DFB vice-president Ronny Zimmermann said after the game “We are looking for a conversation with the Chinese delegation that we live in Germany, there are certain laws, and this includes the freedom of expression.”
The Chinese wants to learn German talent promotion and with this aim they are playing a series of friendly matches with German clubs during their off weekends. The young Chinese footballers are to competing with German clubs, “so that one day Chinese football will be at the top”.