The two chairmen of Guangzhou R&F and Guangzhou Evergrande got so inebriated during a pre-match banquet that neither was able to leave the restaurant to take in their teams’ city derby last weekend, it has emerged.
According to a story in the Chinese media, Evergrande owner Xu Jiayin and Zhang Li, his counterpart at rival club Guangzhou R&F, are the best of friends and decided to get together to enjoy a lavish meal at a luxury restaurant in the city, and intended to make their way to Tianhe stadium to watch the match together.
However, the report said that the two men “drank vigorously” for several hours, “conducting their own Guangzhou derby” during the meal, as the two property magnates got down to serious pre-match business.
Unfortunately for the wealthy pair, due to their “ceaseless toasting” of each other throughout the feast, the pair “abandoned” their plan to make their way to the stadium together, unable as they were to make it out of the front door.
An Evergrande spokesman confirmed to Sina Sports that Xu and Zhang settled for watching the match in the restaurant on TV, and denied that the drunken pair were too inebriated to make it out of the restaurant, however the Chinese internet published numerous suggestions to the contrary.
Chinese football is currently going through a period of unprecedented scrutiny as new money pours into the game and wealthy club owners come under criticism for being more interested in using the clubs to fit their own personal business agendas than a genuine passion for football.
Xu and Zhang’s alcoholic adventure has done little to dispel this image.
Category: Chinese Super League, Guangzhou Evergrande, Guangzhou R&F
Tags: drunkenness, Xu Jiayin, zhang li
So who won that contest? Did fuli do the triple?
Real football fans !!! What’s wrong with this? A refreshing new image for Chinese football.