The CPBL on Monday decided for the first time in its 31-year history to ban two fans “indefinitely” from its games after the two repeatedly fired off expletives at a player during a game on Sunday.
The two fans were found to have used vile language to insult Fubon Guardians relief pitcher Chen Hung-wen at the team’s away game against the CTBC Brothers in Taichung, the league said.
The verbal assault came as Chen was walking back to the dugout following a bench-clearing incident, although Chen was not involved in the incident.
For the safety of the league’s players and all spectators, the two have been banned from attending league games, it said in a statement.
It was the first time that the CPBL has barred a fan from attending games over behavior toward a player, although some fans have been barred from attending games after altercations with other fans.
The league’s decision came after the Brothers announced that the pair would not be allowed to purchase tickets to their home games following the misconduct.
One of the two fans later told the Brothers that he was willing to apologize to Chen in person, manager Liu Chih-wei said.
The Brothers are discussing the issue with the Guardians.
The Brothers welcome fans to be passionate at games, but “certain lines cannot be crossed,” Liu said.
A video circulating online purportedly shows the two fans shouting expletives at Chen following the brawl, with one of the voices clearly calling him a “motherfucker.”
In the video, Chen is being restrained by his teammates from talking back to the fans, before being escorted back to the dugout to prevent any escalation of the situation.
The brawl erupted in the top of the fifth inning after Guardians slugger Lin Yi-chuan was hit by a pitch thrown by Brothers starting pitcher Ariel Miranda.
The pitch was considered by some as payback for Guardians starting pitcher Henry Sosa hitting Chang Chih-hao of the Brothers with a pitch two innings earlier after Chang hit a homer in his previous at-bat.
The Guardians beat the Brothers 7-3.
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