Police on alert ahead of China-Japan match
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-05-10 15:24

Police in East China's Shandong Province will all have their sleeves rolled up to ensure stability and order Wednesday night when a crucial soccer match featuring two top clubs from China and Japan is played.

In Jinan City where the match will be held, a police statement on the Chinese club's Web site warned fans not to throw things or shout "vulgar slogans," adding that any persons committing violence would be "punished accordingly."

Last year, after China's national team lost to Japan's in the Asian Cup final, dissappointed soccer fans in Beijing pelted Japanese fans with garbage. A video recording a Chinese fan raising a wooden knife with the Chinese characters saying "a knife for cutting the heads of Japanese militants" was widely broadcast on Japanese TV networks, adding fuel to the World War II feud between the two peoples.

Analysts say that the Asian Champions League qualifier between Japan's Yokohama F Marinos and Shandong Luneng in Jinan will be the highest-profile event in China involving a Japanese team, since the last match.

"We have asked the chinese authorities to take necessary measures to protect Japanese fans and Japanese players," said Keiji Ide, the Associated Press quoted the spokesman for the Japanese Embassy in Beijing as saying on Tuesday.

The source reported that two Japanese Embassy officials were to travel to Jinan to work with the local police. Ide said he didn't know how many Japanese fans had tickets to the game.

Shandong leads Group F with 12 points, having won its first four matches, including a 1-0 victory over Yokohama F Marinos in Japan in march. The Marinos are in second place, with nine points from three wins and a loss.

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