September 9: What Did Wang Shangyuan Do This Time? Henan Draw 0-0 With Chengdu Rongcheng, Controversy Continues the Next Day

The screenshot of the private message shared by Wang Shangyuan contained only one sentence.

That sentence targeted his child.

Before this, Chengdu Rongcheng forward Wei Shihao's wife had also shared similar private messages, which likewise insulted a child.

Two people, two teams, the same opponent, and hostility hidden behind anonymous accounts. On September 7, 2026, in the 26th round of the Chinese Super League, Henan hosted Chengdu Rongcheng and held them to a 0-0 draw.

Chengdu Rongcheng could have won the match and secured the title four rounds early, but Henan managed to hold them back.

After the draw, Henan's one point was not a huge gain, but the team kept the league leaders scoreless, with topics to discuss in their buildup play and midfield interceptions.

However, the post-match attention was completely taken over by a screenshot. The incident began with Wei Shihao.

Chengdu Rongcheng forward Wei Shihao and his wife, known as "Jiaozi," received a large number of abusive private messages from extreme fans, including death curses directed at their two-year-old daughter.

Wei Shihao's wife chose to report the matter to police and preserve evidence.

The next day, Henan captain Wang Shangyuan also posted a screenshot of private messages on social media, showing someone directing vicious curses at his child. Wang added four characters: "Go away from where you came."

Later, Wang Shangyuan's wife Lu Yaoyao publicly stated that "people who insult children again will be met with legal measures to protect our family."

Together, the two incidents formed a complete chain: first, extreme Henan fans attacked Wei Shihao's family, then extreme Chengdu fans retaliated against Wang Shangyuan's family. You insult me, so I will insult you back.

A vicious cycle.

Players can accept tactical criticism.

Too many backward passes, slow tackles, or deserving to be substituted are all within normal professional sports discussion.

Chanting for a coach to leave or demanding substitutions from the stands is also an emotional reaction from ticket-buying fans. But targeting family members in private messages, especially underage children, is no longer an expression of watching football.

A club captain's salary does not include having his wife and children cursed by strangers in the middle of the night.

Wang Shangyuan handled the matter in a restrained way this time.

He did not expose the other person's account or post the full conversation, only the most unacceptable sentence. A public screenshot may not make the abuser stop, but it at least tells other players that they do not have to remain silent when facing such situations.

After preserving evidence, platform complaints or police reports are possible next steps. Online abuse targeting players' families is not the first such incident in the Chinese Super League.

During the 2025 season match between Tianjin Jinmen Tiger and Chengdu Rongcheng, home fans publicly insulted Wei Shihao and his family using loudspeakers. Wei lost control emotionally and was sent off after receiving two yellow cards.

Afterward, the involved fan was detained administratively for seven days, permanently banned from attending matches, Tianjin's competition area was criticized, and the involved stand received a one-match empty-stand penalty.

In the 2026 season, after Shanghai Shenhua played Beijing Guoan, three fans were administratively detained by police for disturbing public order after criticizing and insulting the father of a boy wearing non-home-team clothing. Also in the 2026 season, after Wuhan Three Towns played Tianjin Jinmen Tiger, some home fans surrounded the visiting team's bus, with the conflict extending from the stadium into public transportation.

These incidents share one thing: the people causing harm are always only a small minority.

Anonymous accounts provide them with a disguise; hiding behind private messages and using competition results as an excuse to curse children has already gone beyond the identity of a fan.

But extreme fans are only part of the problem.

The public opinion environment is also distorting the discussion.

Some people unconditionally defend players and believe insulting players' families is justified.

Others argue that family members deserve attacks because their husbands are footballers. This black-and-white approach turns a discussion about boundaries into a battle of taking sides.

More frustrating is the spread of misleading edited content. Lu Yaoyao had initially liked the post about Wei Shihao's wife reporting to police, but some people screenshot and misrepresented it as "mockery," creating new conflict.

One family member supporting another family member's effort to defend their rights is basic empathy in normal society, yet in football circles it can be interpreted as a conspiracy.

Seeking protection is not easy. Obtaining evidence from platforms and identifying anonymous accounts is a complicated and lengthy process, making quick results difficult.

In the past, many family members chose silence and avoidance because exposure would only bring more attacks.

Now, Wei Shihao's wife reporting to police and Wang Shangyuan's wife speaking publicly signal that they will no longer simply endure abuse. Public security laws can punish insulting and threatening behavior, and serious cases may constitute the crime of provoking disturbances.

Private messages are sent directly between individuals, making it difficult for platforms to detect them immediately, but users can file complaints directly from the chat page.

People who truly regard a team as their home team will not curse players' families on their profiles. Since the home-and-away system fully returned in the 2023 season, Chinese Super League attendance has steadily recovered.

But as popularity rises, on-field friction and fan conflicts are also being amplified.

Oriental Sports Daily noted that this round's incident reflects "the deeper dilemma of lagging football culture development behind the league's apparent recovery."

Rivalries on the pitch should be resolved on the pitch.

Criticizing performances and cursing families are two different languages; football viewers should know the difference.

Players earn money for playing football; they never signed a contract requiring their families to endure online abuse.

When a private message cursing a child arrives at midnight, should one block the sender, call the police, or post a screenshot? This question concerns not only players, but everyone holding a phone.