Football fans furious after China's 1-1 home draw to Malaysia

A giant tifo is seen before the start of the China-Malaysia game at the Phoenix Hill Sports Park Stadium in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province on September 9, 2023. Photo: VCG

The Chinese national football team scored a disappointing 1-1 draw to Malaysia during a home match on Saturday, as fans continued to express their dissatisfaction at the lackluster performance well into Sunday. 

Malaysia stunned the hosts with a goal in the 11th minute, an anxious start to the first half of the match for the more than 26,000 home fans at the Phoenix Hill Sports Park Stadium in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province. It was not until Lin Liangming scored an equalizer in the 36th minute that the fans were able to breathe a momentary sigh of relief. 

China, currently ranked 80th on the FIFA world rankings, made 16 shots compared with nine tries from Malaysia, who are world No.136, with the home team having ball possession for an overwhelming 67 percent of the match. 

When the stadium MC announced the draw, the fans inside the stadium angrily booed and yelled, while demanding their money back and chanting "refund!"

A video making the rounds on social media showed a fan so overcome with wrath during the game that he had to be escorted out by other fans and medical staff due after suffering from respiratory issues. 

"We didn't deserve to win tonight," China's head coach Aleksandar Jankovic told reporters after the match. "The fans supported us throughout the game, and I felt sorry that we disappointed them."

What further incensed Chinese football fans was the news that China's neighbor Japan bested former World Cup champions Germany with an impressive 4-1 victory during an away friendly match on Sunday.

"Once we were on the same level with Japan but now, I think we are like 30 years behind Japan," a fan usernamed Xinli wrote on Weibo. "Though on the under-15 level we've made some breakthroughs, the gap remains huge."

The Chinese under-15 national team defeated its Japanese counterpart in the Under-15 East Asian Championship final in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province earlier on Friday. 

In more good news for Chinese football, over the weekend the national under-23 team defeated India thanks to a 96th-minute goal from Naibijiang Mohemati, avoiding a second draw for yet another national team in one night. 

The senior national team will take on Syria on Tuesday, which Jankovic sees as an opportunity to prove the team's capabilities. 

"The good thing is that three days from now we have a game to prove ourselves. We need to correct the problems [we have] and win for our fans," he said.