The recent Asian Cup soccer tournament, which Japan's national team won, witnessed an eruption of anti-Japanese sentiment among Chinese fans, including booing during the playing of the Japanese national anthem. The Chinese government tightened security for Saturday's final in Beijing, but anti-Japanese sentiment manifested itself after the game in the burning of a Hinomaru flag and an attack on a Japanese diplomat's car.
Contests between country-based teams are nationalistic events by nature. One can understand, therefore, the possibility of fans of any nation becoming boisterous. However, bringing specific political issues into games and bashing a country over them, as was done during the Asian Cup, is abnormal to say the least.
The troublesome behavior of some Chinese soccer fans, which continued despite repeated warnings by the authorities, has left China with a serious headache as it prepares to host the 2008 Olympics. According to one Chinese Olympic Committee official, the brouhaha demonstrated a "low cultural level."
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