Taiwan cheering row overshadows China quarterfinal at Asian Cup
Al Jazeera
Taiwan face China in a tense quarterfinal of the Women’s Asian Cup, where political tensions will be at the fore.
Taiwan and China will battle on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the Women’s Asian Cup, where geopolitical strains have found their way to the terraces and sparked complaints from Taiwanese fans over their right to cheer on their team.
Former Taiwan men’s coach Chen Kuei-jen was ejected by security staff working for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) at Western Sydney Stadium on Tuesday after leading cheers for the women’s team during their 3-1 win over India.
Taiwan fans alleged Chen was booted out for chanting for “Taiwan” rather than “Chinese Taipei”, the designation used for Taiwanese teams at international sporting events.
Taiwan has long competed as “Chinese Taipei” to assuage China, which claims the democratically governed island as its own. Taiwan’s government rejects Chinese sovereignty claims.
Chen’s ejection prompted the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Sydney to lodge a protest with the AFC.
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