China’s Under-20 team has called off a series of friendlies against German fourth-division clubs due to protests of Tibetan separatists in Mainz City.

The U20 side has been planning to use the 16 friendlies in Germany, which runs until May, to advance China’s chances of competing in the Tokyo 2022 Olympics as well as promote the football communication between China and Germany.

When China was during the first half of its game against the fourth-tier club TSV Schott Mainz last Saturday, a small group of separatists displayed Tibetan flags.

As Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said, the country firmly opposed any “separatist, anti-China or terrorist activities.”

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) believes that the sports events should not be disturbed by non-sports factors and feel sorry for Germany’s failure to end such incidents. The CFA has decided to postpone the U20 games in Germany and is helping arrange the team’s return, because the core national interests of China should not be harmed due to any reason.

Source: Sohu

Proofread by William Logsdon