Dear Chinese football fans, Hassan Sunny’s 11 saves should be seen in the right spirit

BEIJING: When news emerged of Chinese fans flocking to show appreciation for Hassan Sunny by sending him money and patronising his food stall in Tampines, a Chinese friend asked me if the Singapore national team goalkeeper had indeed meant to help China.

The friend was referring to Hassan’s outstanding goalkeeping when Singapore played Thailand in a World Cup qualifier match on June 11. Thailand needed to defeat Singapore by at least three goals to advance to the next round but managed only a 3-1 win, which meant China progressed at Thailand’s expense.

Hassan was later feted by Chinese netizens as a hero for pulling off 11 saves against the Thais. This sparked an outpouring of support from the Chinese, so much so that Hassan had to urge them to stop sending money to his stall via QR code.

While I am glad that a Singaporean footballer has received greater recognition for his skills, my friend’s question left a bad taste in my mouth.

It cast an unwelcome cloud over Hassan’s sterling display in the Thailand match, which, to me, reflects nothing more than the goalkeeper and the other members of the Singapore football team putting up as good a performance as they can while representing Singapore.

Isn’t it expected that every athlete would strive to do his best when donning national colours?

Given that there is much goodwill in China towards Singapore, I wonder if many Chinese were thinking along the same lines as my friend, that a Singaporean footballer would be inclined to do China a favour.

But such thinking would run counter to the spirit of sports, which stands for fair competition.

The irony is that Hassan’s skills were also on display when Singapore battled it out with China in earlier World Cup qualifier matches in March, but he had not received as much attention from Chinese fans then.

China beat Singapore 4-1 on March 26, but had to settle for a 2-2 draw when they met earlier on March 21.

Singaporeans might be surprised by the outpouring of gratitude to Hassan by the Chinese, which saw many of them transferring money to his stall via QR code payments.

However, in China, this is not uncommon – netizens would show their love to businesses or personalities through their wallets.

For example, they would send payments to their favourite live streamers as a token of appreciation.

In February, when Zong Qinghou, founder of Chinese beverage giant Wahaha, died at age 79, Chinese netizens paid tribute to him by snapping up Wahaha products online, sparking an explosive surge in sales.

Zong, a delegate to China’s top legislature, the National People’s Congress, was known for being supportive of proposals to ease livelihood burdens.

But in Singapore’s context, it does seem odd for a footballer to receive payment from interested third parties for his performance in a match. It is good that Hassan has come out to say he would donate the money he received from Chinese fans.

That Chinese football fans have taken Hassan to their hearts is a heart-warming story that captured eyeballs from China to Britain. His heroics and China’s lucky break have come as sweet relief for Chinese fans amid the state of men’s football in their country.

While China has a better record in the Olympic Games, the men’s football team have made it to the World Cup finals only once – the 2002 World Cup held in South Korea and Japan, where they lost all three group matches and made an early exit.

In contrast, South Korea, its East Asian neighbour and co-host of the 2002 World Cup, became the first nation outside Europe and the Americas to reach the semi-finals that year.

According to the latest rankings by world football governing body Fifa, China’s national men’s team are ranked 88th, far below the US (11th), Japan (18th) and South Korea (23rd).

The sad thing is, football has become a bit of a joke in China.

The poor performance of the men’s national team has become a common lament among the Chinese.

Football in China is also rife with scandals such as match-fixing, gambling and corruption. Just in March, it was reported that Chen Xuyuan, the former chief of China’s football association, was handed a life sentence for accepting more than US$10 million (S$13.5 million) in bribes.

This is despite China investing billions in the sport, with Chinese firms buying stakes in European teams and developing Chinese provincial teams, in the hope that the country would become a “football superpower” by 2050.

Meanwhile, Hassan’s popularity among the Chinese looks set to grow – he has already garnered 384,000 fans on his newly set-up account on Douyin, the Chinese TikTok. On Weibo, he has drawn 24,100 followers. On June 16, he drew crowds in Shanghai while on a personal trip that also involved appearances at events.

While it is good that Hassan is winning acclaim and fans in China, his impressive performance in the recent match against Thailand should be seen in the right spirit.

It is in the spirit of fair play and competition, and not “assistance” towards any particular team. – The Straits Times/ANN