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Chinese Football Association (CFA)
SportFootball

Hao Haidong’s son sacked by Serbian club Radnicki Nis after ‘pressure from Beijing’

  • China’s record goalscorer criticised the Communist Party on anniversary of Tiananmen Square crackdown
  • Hao Runze has been let go just a week after Chinese media praised him and tipped him to follow in his father’s footsteps

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Hao Runze, of Radnicki Nic, warming up before a Serbian Cup quarter-final against Cukaricki in Belgrade on June 3. Photo: Xinhua
Jonathan White

Hao Runze, the footballing son of China’s former star striker Hao Haidong, has been sacked by his Serbian club after pressure from Beijing, according to reports.

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The news comes after Hao senior was deleted from the Chinese internet following his controversial statements against the Chinese Communist Party last Thursday, the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

China’s record scorer and his second wife, former China national team badminton star Ye Zhaoying, were filmed on a live-stream calling for the establishment of a federal China, which led to their Chinese social media accounts being deleted.

That came a day after Hao Haidong was congratulated on his son’s first goal for Serbian side Radnicki Nis. Hao Runze, a defender, scored in a game against Napredak on May 30, and was being touted as following in his father’s footsteps for the national team.

Now all mention of both players has been deleted from Chinese news sites and Hao Runze was released over the weekend.

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