The FA's second round of punishment list has been revealed late, which makes the new season's title fight and relegation situation become complicated. Recently, it was rumored that Shenhua's management had not been notified of the fine, which seems to reveal the criteria and list of club penalties, and that all forces are still in the dark in this game. However, I observed that a detail after Shanghai Harbor's title win seemed to suggest that Taishan and Shenhua were not the primary targets of the FA's penalties.
Last month, Seaport emerged as champions of the Chinese Super League. However, it was surprising to see how few congratulations have been expressed to Seaport in the short week since the title win. Currently, congratulations can only be found on the internet from China B's Shaanxi United, the Shanghai Football Association and the Meizhou Hakka Fans Union. None of the current Chinese Super League teams have paid tribute to Seaport's win. In stark contrast, when Dalian Yingbo qualified for the 2025 Chinese Super League, they received congratulations from a number of teams including Shandong Taishan, Changchun Yatai and Qingdao Hainiu, as well as Yunnan Yukun.
In 2021, after Shandong Taishan won the championship, Wuhan, Qingdao, Cangzhou Lions, Qingdao Zhongneng, Jinan Xingzhou, Guangzhou R&F, Changchun Yatai, Henan Songshan Longmen, Wuhan Sanzhen and half of the Chinese Super League teams sent congratulatory letters. As the saying goes, don't compare, don't know, a comparison is a shock. It is worth noting that even fellow city team Shanghai Shenhua did not congratulate Seaport on their win. This clearly shows that Seaport looks particularly isolated in the congratulatory voices.
Numerous events are interrelated.2024 On November 25, the CSL issued a new wage restriction policy: foreign players' pre-tax annual salary is capped at 3 million euros, the total foreign player salary in a single season is capped at 10 million euros, and the average annual salary is capped at 2 million euros. According to this regulation, the total salary of foreign players of CSL teams is even less than half of Seaport Oscar. From this perspective, Seaport is the most affected by the FA's latest salary limit. The intention of the FA is self-evident.
The fact is that no Premier League team is pure and unblemished from a silent ball point of view. During the tenure of the programmer in charge of the FA, we are well aware of who are the clubs that benefit the most. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand that, whether it is the collective silence of the Chinese Super League teams in congratulating Harbour for winning the championship, or the latest wage restriction order issued by the FA, Taishan and Shenhua are not the main targets of the FA's punishment.
