The Chinese Football Association (CFA) was caught secretly filming the training of an opposing team.

China's 'Sohu' reported on the 26th (Korea time) that "According to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announcement, the CFA has been fined $2,000 (approximately 2.71 million won) for illegal filming of the opposing team's training by a video analyst of the under-20 (U-20) national team. The video analyst received a fine of $5,000 (approximately 67.8 billion won)."

The Chinese U-20 national team was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2025 AFC U-20 Asian Cup held in February in Shenzhen, China. At that time, China lost 0-1 to Saudi Arabia in the quarter-finals held at the Youth Football Training Base Center Stadium.

As a result, China failed to reach the semi-finals and also missed out on participating in the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup scheduled to be held in Chile in September. China, which regarded itself as having 'the best-ever members,' looked for greater heights but could not get past the quarter-finals.

At that time, China attacked the Saudi goal based on a higher possession than Saudi Arabia, but their lack of finishing ability held them back. Notably, in the 14th minute of the second half, promising striker Liu Chengyu missed a penalty and bowed his head. Ultimately, China allowed a late goal by Saudi Arabia in the 4th minute of added time and had to shed tears.

And four months later, the AFC Disciplinary Committee imposed a fine on China. The Chinese national team was caught secretly filming the official training of an opposing team, but which team's training was filmed has not been disclosed.

According to the AFC announcement, the CFA violated Article 52, Section 1 of the '2025 U-20 Asian Cup competition regulations' and must pay the fine within 30 days. Failure to comply may result in more serious punishment. Additionally, the video analyst directly responsible for the illegal filming must also pay the $5,000 fine within 30 days, or they could face stricter penalties.

However, Chinese media raised issues of fairness concerning the AFC. First, Sohu noted, "According to known information, the opposing team involved in this secret filming is Saudi Arabia. Such incidents have not been uncommon in the past. Last year, during the Paris Olympics, the Canadian women's soccer team was severely punished for illegally using a drone to film New Zealand's training process. FIFA has shown a zero-tolerance attitude."

The media continued, "However, some actions related to training filming are detached from this. There is still often a lack of clear standards. For example, during the U-17 Asian Cup match held in Saudi Arabia in April this year, surveillance cameras were installed on one side of the training ground of the Chinese team. Because Saudi Arabia was in the same group as China, there was indeed a risk of tactical leaks."

[Photo] Chinese Football Association, AFC social media.

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