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Chinese football witnessed a shocking incident this week when a team was handed a fine for attempting to curse their title rivals.
Changchun Xidu Football Club, a team competing in China's third-tier league, has been fined 30,000 yuan (approximately US$4,000) for attempting to curse their rivals.
The club was found guilty of placing "feudal superstition items" in the opposing team's locker room.
Prior to their home match on Saturday against Shanxi Chongde Ronghai, Changchun Xidu placed paper talismans in their opponents' changing area.
Changchun Xidu, currently second in League 2 North, went on to win the match 2-0 against eighth-placed Shanxi Chongde Ronghai.
These talismans, known as fu in Chinese, are associated with Taoist practices. While they are traditionally believed to harness spiritual energy for positive outcomes, they can also be used to inflict harm or misfortune.
Changchun Put Charms in Opponents’ Lock Room
The yellow talismans found in Shanxi's locker room bore the inscription: "By imperial decree, Shanxi Chongde Ronghai will fail."
Chinese media reports that other third tier clubs in the country had also complained of yellow talismans when playing against Changchun.
“The Chinese Football Association will resolutely and seriously deal with all kinds of violations of rules and regulations,” the association said in a statement announcing the fine on Wednesday as quoted by My News.
Chinese football has previously been rocked by cases of teams using spirits to win a match as witnessed in 2017 when Henan Jianye – who at the time were bottom of the Chinese Super League – invited 15 Taoist priests to perform rituals on the field before their game against Shandong Luneng Taishan.
They won the game 2-1, just their second win of the season and ended up avoiding relegation as they finished eight points above the drop zone.
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