2016 in Chinese football
The 2016 season was the 66th season of competitive association football in China. Men's Football. Cup competitions. Chinese FA Cup. Final. "3–3 on aggregate. Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao won on away goals." Scandals. Wuhan Hongxing–Jiangsu Suning brawl. On 11 May 2016, an on-field brawl occurred in the third-round game of FA Cup between amateur club Wuhan Hongxing and first tier club Jiangsu Suning. Jiangsu's striker Ge Wei scored in the 7th minute of stoppage time as Jiangsu edged Wuhan Hongxing 1–0 and advanced to the next round. Players and staff of Wuhan  Hongxing lost control and attacked their counterparts following the final whistle. Jiangsu's Xie Pengfei was hit onto the ground by several Wuhan players, while scorer Ge Wei was injured on his rib; many other Jiangsu's players also suffered injuries in the melee. Some reporters from Jiangsu were also assaulted in the incident. Jiangsu's staff Wu Bo, who was recording the match, was beaten up by a group of unidentified people. Jiangsu Suning left Wuhan on a high-speed train immediately after the match. The officials of Wuhan Hongxing condemned the brawl and vowed to punish the players  involved later that day. They also emphasized that the cause of the brawl could not ascribed to Wuhan only as they believed the goal celebration of Jiangsu was a deliberate provocation. On 12 May 2016, Wuhan Hongxing issued an apology to Jiangsu and announced that five players who were involved the brawl had been sacked by the club. However, Wuhan was exposed to use ineligible players in the match on the same day. On 20 May 2016, the Chinese Football Association published the survey results and punishments. Jiangsu was awarded a 3–0 win. Wuhan Hongxing Bairun F.C. was fined 200,000  RMB and banned from all future matches organised by the Chinese Football Association. Six players and two staff of Wuhan received a life ban from football, four players of Wuhan received a 36-month ban from football and ten players of Wuhan received a 24-month ban from football.