‘Dangerous’: Hong Kong rainstorm warning ignored as football Premier League turns farcical, with title race marred
- Flooding hits decisive matches in city’s top league after fixtures go ahead despite pleas to postpone
- ‘This is Hong Kong, what can you do? They just tell you to play,’ Tai Po coach Lee Chi-kin says
The Hong Kong Premier League plunged into farce over the weekend, with football bosses condemned for the decision to ignore freak weather and proceed with fixtures that helped to decide the championship.
Tai Po’s title challenge sank in conditions that were labelled dangerous, after they asked in vain to postpone their Saturday match and suffered injuries during it.
Hours later, third-placed Eastern’s game inexplicably began with a rainstorm warning still in effect before being halted after five minutes, resuming then being abandoned.
Thunderstorms and flooding left schools suspended, businesses closed and hikers stranded, but football’s elite competition ploughed ahead.
Lee Chi-kin, the Tai Po head coach, was furious his team had to play Southern at a sodden Aberdeen Sports Ground. The 0-0 draw extinguished Tai Po’s faint hopes of catching Lee Man at the summit.
The coach wanted the fixture cancelled after torrential rain left puddles dotted across a quagmire of a playing surface. He subsequently lost two players with muscle injuries in a match that provided a poor spectacle.
“It was dangerous for the players, but it is not my call,” he said. “This is Hong Kong, what can you do? They just tell you to play, and we suffered some injuries.”
Later on Saturday, the meeting between Eastern and HKFC at Mong Kok Stadium was somehow allowed to start amid belting rain, and with a forecast storm imminent. In farcical scenes, the game was paused after five minutes, but restarted nearly one hour later before referee Lau Fong-hei finally abandoned it with half an hour gone.
The mess at Mong Kok, coupled with Tai Po’s decisive fixture unfolding on a surface unfit for purpose, was another blow to the credibility of the local league.
This season, club owners have accused the city’s football association of failing to promote the game adequately, while VAR’s introduction was shrouded in controversy. The technology is not used in every match, leading to questions over the competition’s integrity.
Fans of Eastern used the club’s Facebook page to criticise Saturday’s events. One called the FA “garbage” for allowing their game to kick off under the threat of thunder and lightning.
Another said: “With red rain and a thunderstorm warning, the match should have been called off in the morning.” One person commented: “The most important thing is to be safe.” Another added: “It’s a bad environment, and the players are the victims.”
The FA has been approached for comment.
After the storms passed, leaders Lee Man moved to within a point of a maiden title by thumping North District 4-0 on Sunday.
Gil Martins broke the deadlock after VAR intervened to determine the Brazilian’s strike was over the line. Further goals came from Jose Angel, Wu Chun-ming and Mitchell Paulissen.
Kitchee are the only team able to reel in Lee Man, but it looks improbable. The leaders have a six-point advantage and face lowly Sham Shui Po in their penultimate game in a fortnight. Tai Po are fourth, with a game in hand, and victories in their closing three matches could yet snatch second.
In addition to his frustration over Saturday’s match going ahead, coach Lee criticised the rule preventing clubs naming more than six foreigners in a matchday squad. He said it would “stop the quality of football in Hong Kong from improving”.
“I don’t know why we do this, it is not normal,” he said. “If I had more quality players to bring from the bench, I could change tactics and maintain the level. This is professional football, there should be no limit.”
