The May 19th Incident

China's Worst Football Moment

When you read the Wikipedia article about China’s 1985 World Cup Qualifying loss to Hong Kong, you only get a small idea of just how intense this match was.

Contemporary English newspaper coverage helps fill in the blanks a little bit:

From Daily Post (Wrexham, Wales), May 20, 1985, Page 10

From The Daily Telegraph, May 20, 1985, page 1

From The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 20, 1985, page 8

From The Shebogyan Press (Wisconsin), May 20, 1985, page 32

From The Straits Times, May 20, 1985, page 1

From The Straits Times, May 21, 1985, page 1

Note, however, that the foreign accounts of this game — including as close as Singapore — understate just how violent and intense the match was.

If you watch the highlights above, you’ll see what I mean. Both China and Hong Kong were fouling like crazy from the start, leading to an atmosphere that was simply bizarre.