The debate over a Soccer News report continued Monday as the newspaper carried its lawyer’s statement asking the Chinese Football Association (CFA) to apologize.

The CFA canceled the Guangzhou-based newspaper’s news-gathering rights at all sports events and activities hosted by the CFA as punishment for a front-page story in Wednesday’s edition which said the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) had graded the Chinese soccer industry as a bad asset and advised State-owned enterprises to steer clear of it.

The SASAC denied the story and denounced the report as irresponsible.

Huang Songliang, the newspaper’s lawyer, said in the front-page announcement that it would like to discuss the issue with the CFA to help the healthy development of the industry, but the CFA had no right to limit news interviews.

Meanwhile, the All-China Sports Federation, a semi-official national organization, hailed the CFA’s move in a commentary on its Web site. (Shenzhen Daily-Agencies)

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