Hong Kong soccer fans on Wednesday sang protest songs and waved anti-government banners as politics spilled into the sporting arena at a friendly match involving English Premier League champions Manchester City.
Before the game, a few protesters handed out fliers outside the stadium where Manchester City played local outfit Kitchee.
“We must protest. We are many,” said one protester, who covered his face and declined to be named, as police nearby marshaled fans into the stadium.
Over past months, Hong Kong has been embroiled by a series of sometimes violent protests — its most serious crisis since the territory was handed back to China by Britain in 1997, but with democratic freedoms under a “one country, two systems” formula.
Fresh conflicts broke out on Sunday in a widening crisis over an extradition bill that could see people from the territory sent to the mainland for trial.
Once Wednesday’s game was underway, some fans sang: “Can you hear the people sing?”
Many in the 20,000 crowd then began chanting: “Free Hong Kong.”
Others held up “No Extradition” signs calling on the Hong Kong government to categorically scrap the extradition bill rather than merely suspend it as it has done.
One man dressed in black, the preferred color of protesters, ran onto the pitch, briefly disrupting the match toward the end.
Manchester City easily won the game 6-1, including two goals from winger Leroy Sane, on a hot and humid night.
Also on the score sheet were David Silva, Raheem Sterling, Nabil Touaizi and Iker Pozo.
City manager Pep Guardiola had earlier said protests affected him at a human level.
The former Barcelona coach was born in the Spanish region of Catalonia and has been a staunch supporter of its push for independence from Spain.
In a post-match news conference, Guardiola said that he hoped a solution could be found to Hong Kong’s problems.
“Here the game was normal,” he added, saying his players were unaffected.
Kitchee captain Huang Yang (黃洋) said he hoped that soccer could help ease tensions.
“We use football to unite people, getting together and [to] see a future in Hong Kong,” he said.
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