Football match between China and Germany

beijing - From our correspondent

A few days ago, at a tournament where national youth teams take part, the Chinese team for players under 20 years suddenly stepped off the field, the moment they would take office against the host country.

The reason was a flag that was unfolded by a handful of Tibetans and sympathizers in the stands, to the anger of the Chinese. Because the organization of the tournament refused to remove the flag, the Chinese walked straight to the locker room without the kickoff.

The situation has escalated since then, because the German Football Association refuses to apologize and does not want to take any measures to prevent further provocations in subsequent matches, in Chinese eyes.

' We can not banish this, 'says Vice-President Ronny Zimmermann. 'In this country we have freedom of speech. 'That comment clearly struck the Chinese in the wrong way. A large-scale football project between the two countries has been suspended for the time being and the Chinese federation is also considering boycotting duels against the European superpower.

'This action is intended to divide China. That should not be protected under the guise of freedom of speech, 'says Professor Sun Jin in the state newspaper Global Times.