BEIJING - A Chinese court has banned striker Hao Haidong from leaving China because he has failed to repay debts, delaying his plans to join English club Sheffield United.
A sports company loaned Hao's boot company 4.3 million yuan ($742,000) in 2002 to be repaid within eight days, the Beijing
News said.
But the striker did not appear at a hearing when the sports company asked the court to bar him from leaving the country until the money was recovered.
"After eight days, the boot company did not honour its commitment to pay back the loans and used various excuses to escape repayment," the newspaper said.
Hao, a talismanic figure for China, was set to leave for England yesterday.
Hao's club Dalian Shide have allowed him to go to Sheffield on a four-year deal as a reward for his distinguished service at the Chinese club.
He was to join United initially as a player before becoming part of the club's training staff.
The Beijing News said Hao had expressed through others a willingness to repay the loan, but had not yet done so.
A former bad boy of Chinese soccer, Hao has said his decision to leave Dalian Shide was partly due to China's shock exit from the Asian 2006 World Cup qualifiers in November.
Hao was banned for a year after spitting at a referee in 1998. In 2001 he had a public row with former coach Bora Milutinovic over the Yugoslav's selection policy.
- REUTERS
