Posted by Chinese side, Shenzhen FC has released a press statement in addressing the racial abuse suffered by Ghanaian winger Frank Acheampong in the Chinese Super League Gameweek 19 fixture against Henan Songshan Longmen on Friday.
Frank Acheampong in the 34th minute was racially abused by Henan Songshan Longmen center-back Cao Gu. The Ghanaian angrily reacted to the discriminatory act by punching the Chinese defender in the face.
Center-referee Yejun Huang without a second thought showed Frank Acheampong a red card. However, Cao Gu was unpunished for the ill and inhumane act which triggered Acheampong.
The red card played a huge role on the outcome of the game as Shenzhen FC went on to lose 3-1, leaving the team at the bottom of the league table after 19 games.
After the game, Shenzhen released a statement condemning the inhuman act. In the statement, Shenzhen revealed that Frank Acheampong suffered multiple racial attacks from Cao Gu in the game.
“In the Chinese Super League match between the Shenzhen team and the Henan team on the evening of July 28, Frank Acheampong, a foreign aid from the Shenzhen team, scored 50 points at the 32nd point of the game,” read the statement written in Chinese and translated into English.
“From the second to the 33rd minute and 12th second, the Henan team player Cao Gu more than one instance of racially offensive language, including “Black man”, “F*cking black
man” and so on.
“Facing continuous insults of extremely bad nature, Frank Acheampong lost control of his emotions and hit Gu Cao, and was sent off by the referee with a red card.
“Since then, the coaches and players of the Shenzhen team have stepped forward to the referee, reported the situation and questioned Gu Cao severely, and the game was interrupted for nearly 10 minutes.
“Frank Acheampong, who did not wait for an apology on the spot, found Gu again in the player exit channel after the game. Cao finally “sincerely apologized” to Frank Acheampong, admitting
“I must be wrong.”
The statement added: “Frank Acheampong through the media after the game apologized for hitting the opponent, but said “my bottom line, others can’t touch it.”
Meanwhile, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) is yet to react to the situation.