Hong Kong police announced Friday that three individuals were arrested for remaining seated and turning their backs during China’s national anthem prior to Hong Kong’s home World Cup qualifier against Iran. In the past, football fans in Hong Kong often expressed political discontent by booing the national anthem. However, in 2020, the government banned this practice as part of a broader crackdown following large-scale democracy protests in the city.
According to police reports from Hong Kong Stadium on Thursday, two men and one woman were arrested for “turning their backs toward the pitch and not standing for the playing of the national anthem.”
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A police statement emphasized that any public and intentional insult to the national anthem constitutes a criminal offense.
The three arrested individuals, aged between 18 and 31, could face up to three years in jail and a fine of HK$50,000 ($6,400) if convicted.
Despite already being eliminated from the qualifying stage for the 2026 World Cup, Hong Kong suffered a 4-2 defeat to Iran in the match.
Hong Kong, as a special administrative region of China, competes under its own name in various international sports, including football.
During the politically tumultuous 2010s, the Hong Kong football team became a symbol of civic pride and occasionally anti-government sentiment. The routine drowning out of the Chinese national anthem by boos before Hong Kong matches had drawn ire from both local and mainland officials.
Following Beijing’s imposition of a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong in 2020, the city passed a separate local law criminalizing insults towards the national anthem.
