Football fans in China were outraged by Zhejiang FC’s decision to proceed with a league match hours after the death of their Gabon international striker, Aaron Boupendza.
Police have ruled out foul play in the death of the 28-year-old, who died after falling from the 11th floor of a building in the eastern city of Hangzhou on Wednesday afternoon.
Boupendza’s Hangzhou-based club went ahead with a home Chinese Super League fixture later on Wednesday against Meizhou Hakka, sparking grief and anger from fans.
“Shouldn’t this match have been postponed?” one user wrote on the X-like social media platform Weibo.
“Why didn’t they postpone the match? The Chinese Super League is really very amateur,” another posted on WeChat.
The match, which ended 2-2, was played in a sombre atmosphere, with none of the club’s other foreign players taking the field.
Fans chanted Boupendza’s name, held up his shirt, and lit up phone torches. After the final whistle, Zhejiang’s players and staff approached fans in an act of collective mourning.
Zhejiang’s emotional captain, Cheng Jin, struggled to answer questions before cutting short his post-match TV interview.
“I’m sorry, it’s not that I don’t respect you. I don’t have anything I really want to say,” he said.
Zhejiang’s Spanish head coach, Raul Caneda Perez, said that there was “nothing to say about the game” at his post-match press conference.
“Today is not for talking about football,” he said, through an interpreter.
“Football should not be discussed in this context.”
Hangzhou police confirmed Boupendza’s death and said they had been called to an incident at 1:14 pm on Wednesday.
Police said they “ruled out a criminal case” after investigations, which included conducting interviews and reviewing video footage.
Boupendza was taken to hospital, but efforts to revive him failed, the police added.
Zhejiang FC released a statement on Boupendza’s death after the match and said they were “fully cooperating with the relevant authorities to carry out the investigation”.
“All the club’s staff send their deepest condolences to his family,” the club said.
The Chinese Football Association (CFA) said in a statement on Thursday that it was “deeply saddened by (Boupendza’s) unfortunate passing” and sent “sincere condolences to his family and friends”.
“Foreign footballers are an important part of the development of Chinese professional football. We will give further care to the physical and mental health of all football players,” the CFA said.
Gabon’s national football association, which announced Boupendza’s death on Wednesday in a statement on X, said: “Aged 28, Boupendza leaves us with the memory of a great striker.”
Gabonese president-elect, Brice Oligui Nguema, also took to X to offer his condolences.
“It is with immense sadness that I learn of the tragic death of Aaron Boupendza, a talented centre-forward who brought honour to Gabonese football,” he posted.
AFP
