Kitchee beat Happy Valley 3-1 last weekend. (PHOTO COURTESY OF HKFA)

At the end of March, Happy Valley coach Pau Ka-yiu and player Lam Hin-ting came under fire for derogatory comments against female referee Gigi Law Bik-chi, after being dissatisfied with her officiating. What followed was a public outcry and a call to tackle the lingering structures of gender inequality and sexism in the local sporting community. 

On April 17 the Disciplinary Committee of the Hong Kong Football Association finally announced its verdict, finding both Pau and Lam guilty of breaching the Disciplinary Code. Both will be banned for a total of ten competitive games, with Lam having the opportunity to halve his sentence by paying a fine of HK$25,000. Happy Valley initially indicated to accept the player’s fine, but also considered appealing the 10-match-ban for coach Pau. 

While the punishment seems to be in line with the regulatory framework of the competition, some still think that the HKFA may have missed an opportunity to take a clear and strong standpoint on the issue. A petition that was initiated by a player of the women’s league has yet to be formally addressed by the federation. 

Nonetheless, hopes are high that the action on the pitch can finally return to the center stage, with the 2020/21 season slowly coming to an end. The regular league will finish by mid-May, when the table will be split into half. The top four will then face each other in three more rounds of the so-called championship play-off, while the bottom four will do the same for the red lantern, even though it is unlikely that any club would be relegated given the league’s overall bad shape. This means by the end of the season, every Premier League side will have played 17 league games, a small boost from the usual double round-robin system, but with the cancellation of both FA Cup and Senior Shield, it is still an undesirably low number of matches. 

Kitchee, who are on top of the table, have already played more games than anyone else this season, but even if that is factored in, they are on a clear path to victory, with Eastern only clinching to a small chance to turn things around in the few remaining weeks. The Bluewaves, who beat Happy Valley 3-1 last weekend courtesy of a Dejan Damjanovic hat-trick, will have a bye week. 

Eastern kept the title hopes alive with a late match-winner against Lee Man. (PHOTO COURTESY OF HKFA)

SOUTHERN vs LEE MAN, Premier League, Aberdeen Sports Ground, April 23, 8 pm

It has been a while, but finally Southern were able to celebrate again at the end of a Premier League match. Stefan Pereira scored a brace in the 2-1 victory over Rangers, which marked Southern’s first win since Nov 21, when they beat Pegasus in the opening round of the competition. With this win, the Aberdeeners left the bottom of the table and leapfrogged both Rangers and Resources Capital. They are now on sixth, on the same number of points as fifth-placed Happy Valley. Meanwhile, Lee Man suffered another heart-breaking defeat, this time at the hands of Eastern. The Bees took an early 2-0 lead within the first 14 minutes of the match, but the Blues pulled off an impressive comeback in the second half, with Fernando, Chung Wai-keung, and eventually Sandro turning the game around. This means Lee Man are very much out of the title race, trailing Kitchee now by 16 and Eastern by ten points. 

PEGASUS vs EASTERN, Premier League, Yuen Long Stadium, April 24, 3 pm

In the meantime, Pegasus are getting more and more comfortable in the top three. Having won their last three games, the Flying Horsemen under coach Kenneth Kwok are now on third and can even challenge Eastern for the runners-up spot in this head-to-head clash at Yuen Long Stadium. However, Pegasus are also still struggling with a relatively weak defense. Despite winning the last three games, they also conceded a total of six goals. Luckily, with Brazilians Marquinhos and Nilson they also have great goalscorers in their ranks that have saved the day more than once already. In addition, 44-year-old defender Fabio Lopes set another special record last weekend, becoming the oldest goalscorer in the (admittedly rather short) history of the Hong Kong Premier League. For Eastern, this game is another decisive one. If the Blues drop any more points, the race for the championship may already be over by the end of the month. 

At the end of March, Happy Valley coach Pau Ka-yiu and player Lam Hin-ting came under fire for derogatory comments against a female referee, after being dissatisfied with her officiating.

RESOURCES CAPITAL vs HAPPY VALLEY, Premier League, Tsing Yi Sports Ground, April 24, 5:30 pm

Resources Capital may have had a rather difficult season, but they will definitely look forward to this match with Happy Valley, who gifted them one of their two wins. Despite the negative headlines, the Greens have played an encouraging campaign so far, but when it mattered the team failed to show up as a collective, which has left them with only a single win in the Premier League. Hence, a much-needed victory over Resources Capital would be an important boost for morale. It could even put them in the race for fourth place, with Lee Man just three points ahead of them. 

RANGERS vs LEE MAN, Premier League, Mong Kok Stadium, April 27, 8 pm

Last but not least, Rangers and Lee Man are completing this Premier League round with a Tuesday night game at Mong Kok Stadium. At the beginning of the season many had already written off Rangers, but club manager Philip Lee put together a surprisingly competitive team, with players that have previously been made redundant by other clubs, especially the ones that relegated or dissolved. Veterans Lam Ka-wai and Lo Kwan-yee also appear genuinely happy to team up again at the end of their respective careers, and they prove every weekend that they are still in form. For Lee Man, meanwhile, the season could end in a bit of a disappointment. Expectations were high that Chan Hiu-ming’s team would be a serious contender for silverware. At least, they still have the AFC Cup to look forward to, which will take place in Hong Kong between May 14 and 20, 2021.