Lippi faces punishment for “obscene outburst” after big defeat

Guangzhou Evergrande head coach Marcello Lippi may be punished by both his club and the Chinese FA following a foul-mouthed utterance in the aftermath of his club’s crucial defeat at home to Beijing Guoan on Sunday which saw the Cantonese side fail to secure the CSL title.

During the post-match press conference, the legendary former Juventus coach was asked by Chinese media if preparations being made at the stadium for the presentation of the trophy had increased the pressure on his team to win the massive fixture between the teams sitting first and second in the league.

Lippi reacted angrily to the question from a Beijing-based reporter, and responded in quick-fire Italian, which could be roughly translated as:

“It was not the club who organized the celebrations, not the bitching whore CFA. Today there was a possibility if we won or drew the game, we would have won the title, so the CFA arranged the championship celebration. If was the FA not the club, you don’t know shit, you really don’t know.”

An irate Lippi directed his rude obscenities initally in a raised voice towards his interpreter, but later cut off him off mid-translation. Lippi then aimed his remarks directly at the media entourage, before saying he had nothing more to add and he wanted to leave the conference after just five minutes.

According to Sina Sports, there is no precedent for a coach being punished for using foul language in a press conference, but suggested official censure of some kind would likely be forthcoming.

The report suggested that Lippi may also face disciplinary action from his own club as Guangzhou Evergrande owner, Xu Jiayin, has staked his personal and political reputation on upholding professional standards in the club and is very much concerned with how it is percieved by the wider public.

Guangzhou Evergrande are still favourites for the title and need a point away to Shandong Luneng on Sunday. However, a defeat to the Jinan side, will see Beijing Guoan clinch the title if they beat relegation-threatened Henan Jianye at the Worker’s Stadium on the same day.