[Censorship in #Sports 2/2]
When China Bans Athletes From Sports Competition...
Chun-Yin Lai, the 22-year-old football player was planned to represent Hong Kong at the 2019 China & Asia Pacific Freestyle Football Championships. He was participating in the “China Championships” and “Asia-Pacific Region Battle” before being disqualified.
Lai used correction fluid to write “Free HK” on his pair of vans in protest against #Vans decision to disqualified the “Naomiso-design” and uploaded the photo to his personal account in Instagram. Another football player, Lyson Sze, was informed by the organizing committee that Lai had received an anonymous complained. Mr. Sze was worried that it would complicate the competition and pressure Lai to quit the tournament or he would be disqualified.
Lai was disqualified in the World Freestyle Football Championship 2 years ago after he talked about his identity as a Hongkonger (people of Hong Kong) during an interview with BBC. Lai told “SportsRoad” that “being disqualified is not helping the situation. It is so ridiculous to link "being proud to be a 'Hongkonger' as a supporter of “Hong Kong Independence. This is wrong to threatened or disqualify me because of the “Free HK” photo". He would be extremely regretful if he was disqualified, “Freestyle Football is an international sports without discrimination of race nor nationality, I believe each of us has the right to enjoy equity and freedom, which it what I have been pursuing, I will not change my stance for participating in any kind of tournament with self-censorship”
Lyson Sze also expressed his concern, “What will be the meaning for winning if our freedom of speech and the will of protecting Hong Kong is erased?” He had emailed the International Freestyle Football Association about the incident and demanded them to clarify the reason of disqualifying Lai. He has explicitly asked if it was the shoes problem? Would he be qualified again if the photo is deleted? Was this a political censorship?
(*Lai had received the notification of being disqualified*)
#ChinaInfluence #SelfCensorship #WhiteTerror #FreedomOfSpeech
Source: Oct 10, https://www.sportsroad.hk/archives/268401