Hong Kong made an impressive start in its campaign to the World Cup, with a 7-0 victory over Bhutan in the Asian qualifying match. However, the win was overshadowed by the Hong Kong fans who booed the Chinese national anthem, which was played before the match at Mongkok Stadium. Unsurprisingly, mainland Chinese were infuriated by the insult.

The match was broadcast on CCTV-5, so the Hong Kong fans’ reaction was witnessed by many mainland viewers. Although mainland sporting reports made no mention of the booing, and the subject has not been very popular on Chinese social media, there have been some extreme reactions from mainland Chinese:

深圳的陆陆:
After watching the broadcast of the Hong Kong-Bhutan soccer match in which Hong Kong soccer fans intentionally hissed the (Chinese) national anthem, all I can say is: get the hell out of here! Forget it, (we mainlanders) are not going to recognize such rude offspring (as you Hong Kongers).

虚无の栤幽:
It’s already hard for me to describe this in words. Just give me a tank already.

earth000kkk:
Murder them all.

万国行:
(When the Chinese national anthem played,) the (Hong Kong) team members were solemnly standing at attention, but spectators were being rowdy. There weren’t many that sang along. What does this signify? That Hong Kongers don’t recognize China (as its country)? Possibly.

管至父:
Doesn’t Hong Kong have its own anthem? The central government is too small minded. When Scotland competes, is it prefaced by the English national anthem?

花心小衰哥丶:
What song does the Taiwan team play during the qualifying rounds for the World Cup? Is it the (same as the PRC anthem)?

管至父 (in response to above):
(They play) the anthem to the Ming Dynasty.

等你回来丶v:
We… have reached… our limits…

老衲无悔4:
Give me a tank. I can’t take it anymore.

萨内蒂爱国米:
If they’re going to boo, then let them. What can we do as the losers that we are? We’d just curse at them from behind our keyboards.

心碎的王子 (responding to above):
Isn’t it illegal to insult the national anthem in a public place?

伊不拉稀我拉稀:
Can you give me a tank?

蓝黑Interview:
Cut off the supply of water and food.

重庆重庆LIFAN:
It doesn’t matter because when the time comes, it will be a 20-0 bloodbath for the national team. Both at home and away. A massacre at Mongkok.

The Chinese Football Association had previously released a number of posters promoting the Asian qualifying rounds, which had been controversial in their own right, by describing the Hong Kong soccer team as a hodge-podge of “black skin, white skin, and yellow skin”. Some netizens considered this to be the reason why Hong Kongers booed the PRC national anthem.

Here’s what netizens had to say on this issue:

NAKACHEN:
Because the China Football Association had released a series of provocative posters, this had sparked anger in Hong Kong soccer fans. So when they play the ‘March of the Volunteer Army’ (the PRC anthem), fans hissed in retaliation.

混世球魔LZ:
This is all the fault of the Chinese FA! Those posters were beyond the pale! If these piggy team members won’t prove to be disappointing, their management sure will!

bonafantasy:
This has nothing to do with the poster. Glorious Hong Kong has always been this way!

baozi1101100:
The soccer league can’t badmouth the national anthem. The national anthem is sacred and cannot be blasphemed against! Hong Kongers notion of national pride has gotten watered down.

tcjtsw (responding to above):
It hasn’t gotten watered down. They simply don’t have any.

折翼泪:
Simply just a bunch of brainless brats.

黑郁金香_u0:
(Hong Kongers) don’t have any morals. China, Japan, and South Korean dispute with each other all the time, and yet they’ve never booed at each other’s national anthem!

hh12390的春天 (responding to above):
This is a reasonable (response). Hong Kong’s power of independence must be quickly squelched.

104五:
(Hong Kongers) always consider mainlanders to be locusts (a derogatory term implying ravenous consumption). Even if there wasn’t a poster (from the Chinese FA), they’d still boo us.