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Hulk and Villas-Boas banned for showing Oscar support

Hulk and Villas-Boas banned for showing Oscar support

Shanghai SIPG attacker Hulk and coach Andre Villlas-Boas have been banned for two games after showing support for Oscar in his eight-match suspension.

Former Chelsea star Oscar was hit with the lengthy ban after sparking a mass brawl in his side's 1-1 draw with Guangzhou R&F by appearing to deliberately blast the ball at opponents twice in quick succession.

Guangzhou's Li Tixiang and Shanghai's Fu Huan were sent off after players from both sides clashed but Oscar initially escaped punishment, only to be later banned by the Chinese Football Association (CFA).

Hulk and his team-mate Wu Lei were pictured wearing t-shirts in support of Oscar after SIPG beat Henan Jianye 4-1 in the Chinese Super League on Sunday.

The t-shirt worn by Hulk featured the slogan "nothing to do, nothing to say", echoing clothing worn by Oscar last week, while Wu's shirt read "nothing to do".

The pair were subsequently handed two-match bans and each handed fines of RMB50000 (€6,500) by the CFA, with Villas-Boas docked RMB16000 (€2,000) as well as a stadium ban for two games for "inappropriate comments on social media".

Although the CFA did not specify which post had landed Villas-Boas in trouble, the former Chelsea and Tottenham boss was given had written on Instagram: "355 career games; 5 years in the English Premier League; 47 appearances for Brazil; 70 goals. ZERO RED CARDS!!! 8 games suspended."

The CFA said Hulk and Wu's conduct had "affected the environment of the Chinese Super League in an inappropriate manner and caused adverse affects [on the league].

"Victory is the result every participant pursues but it can never be at the cost of sacrificing football order and disrupting football rules," a CFA statement read. "Respect the rules, referees, fans, opponents and the game.

"The CFA will keep strictly punishing all violations of rules and discipline and hope that all clubs, officials and players can maintain order."

Bans for Hulk, Wu and Villas-Boas will be a blow to SIPG's title hopes, with the team sitting second in the CSL table after 14 matches, four points behind reigning champions Guangzhou Evergrande.