Fans line up for 48 hours for tickets.
Beijing Guo’an will try and take the Chinese domestic title this weekend, but not in front of their real fans.
According to the ‘Beijing Youth Daily’ Newspaper, the club has withheld as many as 32,000 tickets for the season finale in which a victory over lowly (second from bottom) Hangzhou Greentown will deliver the Chinese Super League title. Rivals Henan Construction are in second place on goal difference and play away from home to 12th placed Shenzhen.
Ten thousand Beijing Guo’an fans protested outside the stadium as 13,000 tickets went on sale in addition to the 15,000 held by season ticket holders. The stadium holds 60,000 leaving many to wonder what happened to the remaining 32,000 seats.
As many as 6,000 police officers will be on duty at the Beijing ‘Workers Stadium’ for the game as yesterdays ticket protest led to riots outside the ground due to angry supporters demanding the missing tickets after a very long wait. Guo’an have never won the Super League, however, their 5 goal advantage should mean that 3 points will secure their first title.
Interestingly enough, the China Daily newspaper has no mention of the rioting at all, just of happy fans waiting in line to buy tickets, some for 48 hours it says. A Chinese paper not reporting public unrest? I never ever would imagine such a thing.
Am I the only one to think that the existence of a “Beijing Youth Daily” is a little creepy?