AFC general secretary criticises sparse attendance
BEIJING, July 17 (Reuters) - Asian Football Confederation (AFC) general secretary Peter Velappan threatened to withdraw future events from Beijing after a sparse turnout in the opening Asian Cup match between the hosts and Bahrain.
"Where were the people of Beijing? They promised a full house," Velappan told a news conference. "If this carries on, Beijing will no longer be the football capital of Asia and we will reconsider bringing AFC events to Beijing.
Velappan was also highly critical of the crowd's behaviour during China's 2-2 draw with Bahrain. China were booed and jeered at halftime after trailing 1-0 at halftime.
"The people of Beijing are not polite," he said. "People were booing and jeering in front of the AFC president (Mohamed Bin Hammam), the FIFA president (Sepp Blatter) and Chinese leaders. This is not the culture of China.
"You have great culture, tradition and education in China but this was not evident today. The behaviour today has made me think I'm not so sure Beijing can host a good Olympics."
The Asian Cup is being seen as a test event for the 2008 Olympic Games but did not even merit a mention in the official English language China Daily on Saturday
