Hong Kong striker angers China fans with post-match comments, asks for forgiveness

Hong Kong striker Michael Udebuluzor has been hammered on social media over comments he made after Tuesday’s East Asian Football Championship match against China.

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China won a tight affair 1-0 in South Korea and following the clash, Udebuluzor addressed the travelling Hong Kong fans, who outnumbered their mainland counterparts, using a megaphone to thank them for their support, adding: “Look at the Chinese fans, next time we’ll beat these b******s”.

The incident occurred just 24 hours after the 21-year-old signed for China League One side Suzhou Dongwu, and he has since apologised for his comments.

But several social media users on the mainland urged the club to terminate his contract, while the Post has also seen several vile slurs directed at the player.

Udebuluzor, however, told the Post that the comments, which were racial in nature, were not a fair representation of his experience with people in China.

Hong Kong’s Michael Udebuluzor (right) is tackled by China’s Xie Wenneng. Photo: HKFA

“I truly believe the Chinese people are not racist,” he said. “I lived there for many years. I have a lot of Chinese friends and none of them are racist. I don’t believe a lot of the people who gave me those comments are racist. I also know they are very sensitive to what I said – they took things out of context.

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