Quenching his thirst proved costly for the Chongqing Lifan goalkeeper Sui Weijie, who has been fined for sipping water as their opponents equalised in a Chinese Super League match.
Hovering around the relegation zone, Lifan were leading 1-0 seven minutes from time in Sunday's match when the home side, Liaoning,were awarded a free-kick just outside the penalty box.
From a hastily taken set-piece, the Liaoning midfielder Ding Haifeng darted past a group of static defenders before slotting the ball into an empty net while Sui stood, seemingly oblivious, drinking from a bottle next to the far goalpost.
Lifan have since handed Sui a 50,000 yuan ($11,138) fine and the player also faces suspension, Xinhua reported. "I made a terrible mistake in Sunday's game and let go a full three points," Sui said. "I won't repeat the same mistake and will never lose concentration."
The player was reportedly confronted by Lifan supporters at Liaoning's Shenyang airport on Monday.
