Hulk, Villas-Boas banned for criticizing Oscar suspension
BEIJING (AP) - Former Chelsea and Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas and Brazilian player Hulk have been suspended for two games each by the Chinese Super League for speaking out against an eight-match ban for their Shanghai SIPG colleague Oscar.
Former Chelsea midfielder Oscar was banned after SIPG's 1-1 draw with Guangzhou R and F on June 18 for kicking the ball into two R and F players in succession in the last minute of the first half, which led to a melee on the field.
Villas-Boas subsequently wrote on his Instagram account: "355 career games; 5 years in the English Premier League; 47 appearances for Brazil; 70 goals. ZERO RED CARDS!!! 8 games suspended".
The Chinese Football Association (CFA) announced on Friday the SIPG manager had been banned for making an "irresponsible comment" on social media which had made a "bad impact."
Hulk was banned for wearing a T-shirt after SIPG's win over Henan Jianye last Sunday carrying a slogan supporting Oscar which read: "NOTHING TO DO, NOTHING TO SAY." Chinese international Wu Lei also wore a T-shirt similar to Hulk's and was also banned for two matches.
The CFA also fined Hulk and Wu 50,000 yuan ($7,500) each, while SIPG received a 100,000 yuan ($15,000) fine and a warning over the controversy.