Chinese footballers found on 'beer street' in Hanoi before match

Deng Hanwen (with his back turned) and some of Wuhan Three Towns' members at the beer street in Hanoi on Nov. 7, 2023. Photo by Weibo/Zhang Chi

A famous Wuhan fan named Zhang Chi posted the incident on Chinese social network Weibo, saying that some players left the training session on Tuesday early. After that, Zhang went to the beer street where he spotted two players, an interpreter and an assistant.

The two players mentioned in the post are Deng Hanwen and Liu Yiming, but it’s not clear whether they came to the beer street to drink alcohol or just to hang out. Deng played the first half of the game against Hanoi FC and was subbed out by Liu in the early second half.

Liu made a mistake in man-marking and let striker Pham Tuan Hai score with a header in the 71st minute before sealing the 2-1 victory for Hanoi in the 90th minute.

Zhang’s post quickly became a trending topic on Weibo, with Wuhan fans and Chinese football fans expressing their disappointment.

Wuhan and the two players remained silent about the incident.

Deng Hanwen (number 25) celebrates a goal with his teammates during the AFC Champions League game of Wuhan Three Towns and Hanoi FC on Nov. 8, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Trung Nhu

Deng and Liu, who are both 28, had a period of training in Portugal, before joining Guangzhou Evergrande from 2019-2022. They signed for Wuhan in 2022 and won the domestic league with the club. Deng and Liu have been regulars on the Chinese national team since 2017.

Another Wuhan player, Wei Shihao, was also criticized for kneeing Pham Xuan Manh and got sent off in the 74th minute. Social media users on the Chinese platforms Weibo, Sina and Sohu said the 28-year-old winger should be banned from the national team as his short temper has earned him a significant amount of red cards throughout his career.

However, coach Aleksandar Jankovic still selected Wei for his 24-man roster to compete in the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, where China will face Thailand and South Korea on Nov. 16 and 21.