Lin Dan, the badminton Olympic gold medalist, played in the 2017/18 China Badminton Super League (CBSL) as a member of the Qingdao Renzhou Badminton Club. However, because of a referee’s ruling, Lin was judged to have broken CBSL rules regarding sponsor’s interest protection and Qingdao Renzhou were fined RMB 120k.

Prior to the match against Qingdao Renzhou and Zhejiang Energy, Lin brought a YONEX bag with him onto the court, as he is an ambassador for the brand. However, Qingdao Renzhou is sponsored by Li-Ning, and the league requires club players to use Li-Ning equipment in the CBSL except for their rackets and footwear. 

This led to the CBSL staff having a dispute with Lin over this incident, delaying the match for around 20 minutes. Finally, because Lin insisted on bringing his YONEX bag onto the court, the broadcasting program of the match had to be cancelled.

Following the dispute, the organizing committee of the CBSL announced that Qingdao Renzhou would be fined RMB 120k and given a warning. The club accepted this punishment and promised to enhance  communication with its players. 

However, Lin expressed his dissatisfaction with the punishment on his personal Weibo account, maintaining that the league just protected its interests rather than the players’ interests. Reportedly, Guangdong Yuehua Badminton club, who Lin played for last season, has not paid all the salary yet to Lin. 

Source: Sina

Proofread by Raymond Fitzpatrick