The ruckus over the November 17th Hong Kong vs China World Cup (soccer) qualifier continues. The Asian Football Confederation has warned against collusion, to which the HK Federation has responded angrily. What they have actually done is turned an interesting match into an absolute must-see. It will be a ratings bonanza. Hats off to some brilliant marketing.

In other football news, Beijing Hyundai have backed off their threats to quit the Chinese soccer league. Hit with a fine and deduction of three League points for pulling out of a game, on Friday the club had appeared to back away from its threats. However once the punishment was announced, the club again threatened to withdraw from its upcoming game unless the punishment was revoked. The club is now being supported by Dalian Shide, another top flight Chinese club. What's even more bizarre is the referee at the original match was suspended for 8 matches by the Chinese Football Federation for the making the wrong decision that has resulted in all this chaos. In the end Beijing Hyundai played on Sautrday and won 2-0 against Qingdao but the club is still appealing the punishment.

Football is quickly becoming a fascinating game in China for all the wrong reasons.