A thrilling World Cup qualifying showdown that ended as a draw between rivals mainland China and Hong Kong has stirred up further controversy when a Hong Kong player alleged he was insulted and spat at by the captain of the mainland team.

The Mainland team was heavily favored to beat Hong Kong, so the draw is seen in some quarters in Hong Kong as a victory and a loss for the Mainland. Hong Kong soccer goalie Yapp Hung-fai, who stopped all of mainland China’s 39 shots on goal, said this on Instagram: “We made it! Also, we, the Hong Kong team, intended to defend. You were mad at not winning the match and approached me to call me a dog. Asian Footballer of the Year, you have good skills, but you fail in terms of sportsmanship!”

Yapp confirmed to Hong Kong media that the “Asian Footballer of the Year” he was referring to was Zheng Zhi, captain of the mainland Chinese team. When asked by news media, Zheng responded that the incident “simply didn’t happen”:

At the time, the referee was at the scene. If I had insulted him or had displayed any untoward behavior, the referee must have have seen it.

Zheng said his team was under pressure as the match was winding down, and complained to the press that the Hong Kong soccer team was displaying unsportsmanlike behavior by trying to run out the clock:

It was clear to everyone that our opponents played defensively rather than offensively to try to run out the clock. We expected that they would play defensively, but did not think that our opponents would try to run out the clock.

Hong Kong soccer coach Kwok Ka-ming said it would be difficult to verify Yapp’s claims without an actual audio recording of the incident.

A “dog” is a mainland Chinese slur used on Hong Kong residents and has British imperialist overtones, something similar to the Hong Kong insult of “locust” used on mainland residents.

Controversy between the mainland China and Hong Kong soccer teams has erupted before. A mainland Chinese campaign promoting the match-up with the ethnically-diversive Hong Kong team drew criticism, while mainland Chinese fans were enraged when the PRC national anthem at a Hong Kong match with Bhutan was booed.

Hong Kong remains at the top of their World Cup qualifying division, and will take on undefeated Qatar on Tuesday. Hong Kong and China will play again on November 17 at Mong Kok Stadium in Hong Kong.