Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande face an investigation after the club's fans unfurled a banner in an Asian Champions League match on Tuesday describing Hong Kong's independence movement as "poison" and carrying the words: "Annihilate British Dogs".
Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande face an investigation after the club's fans unfurled a banner in an Asian Champions League match on Tuesday describing Hong Kong's independence movement as "poison" and carrying the words: "Annihilate British Dogs".
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said it was looking into the incident, which occurred in the latter stages of Guangzhou's 6-0 win over Hong Kong champions Eastern.
"The AFC is waiting for the match commissioner's report and then the AFC will make a full assessment of the facts," a spokesperson for the confederation told Reuters.
The report is expected to be received by the continental body later on Wednesday, with a decision on any further action due to be taken over the coming days.
The banner, which stated: "Annihilate British Dogs, Extinguish Hong Kong Independence Poison", was displayed in the section where around 700 visiting Guangzhou fans were seated.
Tensions were high in the run-up to the game at Mongkok Stadium with additional security measures in place to ensure Guangzhou fans who bought tickets online could not be seated with supporters for the home team.
Hong Kong officials have been sensitive to any prospect of trouble at sporting events featuring Chinese teams since street protests ground parts of the city to a halt in late 2014.
Similar restrictions were put in place when China's national team played against Hong Kong in World Cup qualifying in November 2015.
The AFC has been clamping down on political banners and fined Taiwan's football authorities $5,000 in June last year after fans displayed a banner calling for independence during an Asian Cup qualifying match with Cambodia in Kaohsiung.
(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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