Kuala Lumpur: Asian Champions League winners Guangzhou Evergrande have been fined for secretly filming Al Ahli’s training session before the second-leg match of the final.
The Asian Football Confederation says Evergrande must pay $160,000 (Dh587,000) for several rules violations around the return match in China against Al Ahli of the UAE last November.
Evergrande must play their first group-stage match in this year’s competition in an empty stadium. The Chinese Football Association was also fined $10,000.
The AFC says $10,000 of the fine is for “bad conduct [filming the ‘closed’ official training of the away team]” by an Evergrande staffer the day before winning the second leg 1-0.
A total of $100,000 was imposed for “conducting an unauthorised post-match ceremony, infringing upon the commercial rights of AFC sponsors,” the governing body says.
Meanwhile, Evergrande smashed China’s transfer fee record on Wednesday when they announced a deal to secure Atletico Madrid’s unsettled Colombian striker Jackson Martinez for €42 million ($46 million; Dh168.2 million).
Martinez, 29, is the latest Europe-based player to move to the cashed-up Chinese Super League and was described as a “goal poacher” and “fox in the box” in a Chinese-language statement on the club’s website.
“The moment has arrived to start a new stage in my career,” Martinez told Atletico’s website.
“The club and I have spoken in the last few days and we are agreed this is the best thing for everyone.”
The purchase broke the week-old Chinese record fee of €28 million, paid by Jiangsu Suning to acquire Brazilian midfielder Ramires from Chelsea.
It lifted the Chinese Super League’s total spending during the current transfer window to €203.9 million, according to website transfermarkt which tracks commercial dealings in the sport — second only to the English Premier League.
Atletico bought Martinez last year for €35 million from FC Porto where he had scored an impressive 92 goals in 133 games. But he struggled to establish himself in Spain, scoring just two goals in 15 La Liga appearances.
Chinese businesses have invested huge sums in football since President Xi Jinping, an avowed fan of the sport, declared that hosting, qualifying and winning a World Cup were national goals.
In the past the highest-profile international signings by Chinese clubs tended to be ageing stars in their 30s nearing the end of their playing days.
But many of those bought in the current transfer window have been in their late 20s.
Questions have been asked about whether some are past their prime. But David Hornby, sports business director of the Mailman brand management group in Shanghai, said: “These are not guys at the end of their career just looking for a payout.”
