Beijing Ducks fined for rowdy fan behavior

Throwing a beverage cup harms the league's image more than attacking a bus with bricks.

At least the CBA thinks so as it fined the Beijing Ducks 110,000 yuan ($17,406) on Friday for its home crowd's uncivilized behavior during their opening finals game against the Guangdong Southern Tigers at the MasterCard Center (formerly Wukesong Arena) on Wednesday.

The fine almost doubled the amount the Shanxi Brave Dragons copped last Tuesday for its fans' unruly behavior, which included throwing litter onto the court in the semi series against Beijing and trapping the guest team's bus after the home game.

The Ducks have accepted the penalty, but don't believe they should take all responsibility for what the fans did.

"I don't think the fine on us will work things out. It was indeed a shame to see it (crowd trouble) happen again," the Ducks' manager, Yuan Chao, said. "We can't control the fans (during the game) but the security staff in the stadium should. We are just a team competing here and we were not involved in the security job."

Moving to the MasterCard Center, the Ducks relinquished charge of security measures, which it handles at its own Shougang Stadium.

During the foul-plagued game, the Ducks' home fans kept abusing Guangdong's players and threw garbage onto the court in the third period to protest against Guangdong forward Zhou Peng's flagrant foul on Stephon Marbury.

After the game, some Beijing diehards gathered around the tunnel to provoke Guangdong's players. One of them threw a drink into young guard Shi Hongfei's face.

The CBA also criticized Zhou for his reckless foul against Marbury, stressing it intensified the fans' hostility and triggered the chaos.

Meanwhile, Guangdong's head coach, Li Chunjiang, was also warned for his inability to discipline his players.

This is the second time Beijing has been fined for rowdy fan behavior and the third for throwing objects onto the court.

By implementing the toughest penalty of the season, the league hopes it will act a deterrent for the rest of the finals.

"It harms the CBA's appeal badly. We hope the clubs and media can educate the fans better and provide more positive guidance," said Bai Xiling, director of the CBA's competition department.

Contact the writer at sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn