Heavy Security at Japan-China Soccer Match
Japan’s soccer team is set to play against China’s team tonight at the Asian Games in Guangzhou. To prevent its nationalistic citizens from marring the event with violence and rioting, the Chinese authorities have enacted strict security measures. All Japanese spectators will sit in a designated area, with security personnel preventing any contact between Japanese and Chinese fans:
Cameras, banners and bottles containing any liquid will be also banned at the match to prevent any “untoward situation” as part of measures enforced by security authorities, the Japanese consulate-general in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou said on its website.
“Please refrain from heckling opponent players and supporters, insulting the opposite country or cheering in any other unfriendly manner as it is dangerous,” it added in a notice to Japanese visitors.
The warning comes as tensions between the Asian giants persist following Japan’s arrest of a Chinese trawler captain for allegedly ramming Japanese coastguard ships near disputed islands in the East China Sea in September.
At the Asian under-19 football championships in China last month, Japan’s squad were booed and one spectator snatched their national flag from ceremony personnel while their national anthem was played before a match.
The restriction on bottles seems like a good idea, considering that Chinese fans have used them as weapons in previous anti-Japanese soccer riots.
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