During this World Cup, some Chinese fans gathered to watch matches in Shanghai bars wearing Japanese team jerseys. The Shanghai Football Association issued a statement emphasizing 'Football knows no borders, but fans have a motherland,' urging fans to pay attention to their attire, conduct, and ways of cheering when watching matches in public to avoid causing negative social impact.
On June 28, the Shanghai FA published a 'Civilized World Cup Viewing Initiative' on its WeChat public account, stating that while fans enjoy the spectacular matches and the charm of football, 'they should also deeply cultivate patriotic feelings, strengthen national identity, and remain rational and restrained in public viewing and online expression.'
The initiative says that fans can like different teams, players, and tactical styles. The FA advocates respecting each other’s choices of which teams to support, but 'opposes irrational fanaticism in cheering and aims to avoid misunderstandings, confrontation, or negative social impact due to personal expression.'
The initiative states: 'When watching in public venues, attention should be paid to appropriate attire, speech, and cheering style, and fans should consciously maintain order and the public environment. Neither blindly idolize any team nor maliciously vilify any team; neither incite emotions with extreme remarks nor create division through online abuse.'
The initiative also says: 'The passion brought by the World Cup should ultimately be turned into practical actions that care about football, participate in football, and support the development of Chinese football.'
After the release of this initiative, some netizens expressed support, believing that national stance should take precedence over personal feelings.
However, there were also quite a few netizens questioning when fans fell under the FA’s authority. 'What’s wrong with watching the World Cup and supporting your favorite team?' Some even joked: 'You can’t wear a Japanese jersey, but you can wear a Russian one.' 'With an FA like this, it’s a miracle if Chinese football ever improves.'
Fudan University’s online celebrity professor Shen Yi, in an online program on June 25, went even further, criticizing these fans as 'traitors' and accusing them of cooperating with hostile media for adversarial propaganda by accepting foreign media interviews.
In response to Chinese fans supporting the Japanese team and claiming they 'grew up watching Captain Tsubasa,' Shen Yi said: 'Works like Captain Tsubasa and other Japanese anime, which turn sports competitions into samurai duels, are a basic part of Japan’s systematic spread of right-wing and militarist ideology.'