Free Tibet

Tibet row halts China U20 football team's German tour
BBC News

A group of spectators unfurled Tibetan flags during last Saturday's game in Mainz

A football tour of Germany by the Chinese U20 team has been suspended because of a political row over Tibet.
The team briefly left the pitch during a game in Mainz last week when Tibetan flags were displayed by spectators.
Three matches planned for the remainder of the year have been halted because fans planned further Tibetan protests.
Tibet is invaded and occupied by China.

Beijing reacts angrily to any suggestions that the Himalayan territory should be independent.

China and the Tibetans
"We believe this adjournment is essential in order to give us the time needed to discuss the situation calmly and openly and find a reasonable solution," Ronny Zimmermann, Vice-President of the German Football Association (DFB), was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
He said the DFB and the Chinese Football Association (CFA) "will try to work out a way of relaunching the project again quickly".
However, Mr Zimmerman earlier stressed that Germany "cannot ban the protests, there is the right to freedom of expression here and certain rules apply".

Chinese players (in red) only agreed to resume the match when Tibetan flags were removed by German police.

The postponed games include Saturday's match in Frankfurt.
China sent in thousands of troops to enforce its claim on Tibet in 1950.
Some areas became the Tibetan Autonomous Region and others were incorporated into neighbouring Chinese provinces.
In 1959, after a failed anti-Chinese uprising, the 14th Dalai Lama fled Tibet and set up a government in exile in India.
Most of Tibet's monasteries were destroyed in the 1960s and 1970s during China's Cultural Revolution.
Thousands of Tibetans have been killed during periods of repression and martial law.
Under international pressure, China eased its grip on Tibet in the 1980s, introducing "Open Door" reforms and boosting investment.

Free Tibet

Tibet flag mars China’s U20 debut in Germany

By Neil Connor

A Chinese agent attempts to tear away a Tibetian flag which was raised in protest of China's politics regarding Tibet at the match between TSV Schott Mainz and China's U20 team at the regional sports facility in Mainz, Germany.

Mainz, Germany -- China’s Under-20s football team stormed off the pitch during a match in Germany after demonstrators unfurled Tibetan flags.
The team – which is coached by former Manchester City defender Sun Jihai - only agreed to continue playing in the televised match against TSV Schott Mainz after the protesters took down the flags.
The incident left football chiefs in China and Germany red-faced as they seek to salvage a series of matches aimed at preparing China’s young footballers for the 2020 Olympics in Japan.
The TSV Schott Mainz game was the first of 16 friendlies the young side is to play against lower clubs in Germany until May -- with the next game against FSV Frankfurt on Saturday.
Ronny Zimmermann, vice-president of the German Football Association (DFB), which has organised the matches, said: "We cannot ban the protests, there is the right to freedom of expression here and certain rules apply.
"However, we also want to be good hosts and as a result we are not happy with this incident.”
Sun, who was signed for Man City for £2 million in 2002 and was the first Chinese player to score a Premier League goal, sought to deflect attention from the walkout back towards the football.
"The team came to Germany to improve their football and to gain experience," he said.

Protesters hold the Tibetan flag ahead the friendly football match TSV Schott Mainz vs China's Under-20 team on November 18, 2017.

The German FA is seeking to avoid a similar embarrassing situation during the remaining games and will be holding talks with the Chinese delegation .
Three teams in Germany’s fourth-tier Regionalliga Suedwest league have refused to face the Chinese after their fans protested, but the other 16 clubs will each be paid 15,000 euros (£13,300) for the matches, reports say.
German media said the game was delayed for 25 minutes after the Chinese walked off.
The team eventually returned to the pitch after the flags were removed by the protestors, but the Chinese lost the game 3-0.
Rights groups say Tibetans chafe under China’s oppressive rule.