Palestinian player accused of showing disrespect to the Chinese national team.

On the evening of October 2nd, the Chinese national team suffered a shocking 0-5 defeat to Palestine at home in Chongqing. This heavy defeat angered and saddened Chinese football fans. But even more disheartening was the attitude and mockery of the Palestinian players towards the Chinese team after scoring a goal.

Specifically, after scoring the third goal against China, Palestinian player Uday Dabbagh made a gesture of pointing his thumb downwards.

The meaning of this celebration is unclear, but Chinese media claim that Uday Dabbagh intended to mock the Chinese national team.

According to Sina , this action was "unacceptable" and "disrespectful" to the Chinese national team.

Many fans also expressed anger, asserting that while Palestine played well, they also needed to respect their opponents.

However, many readers commented on Sina that: "The national team's performance in this match deserved that action; they could only silently endure it and couldn't do anything else."

"The Chinese Football Association spent money inviting Palestine to play and then let them defeat them, showing disrespect but unable to react," was another comment on Sina.

According to Sina , the Chinese national team refused to participate in the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 for free, even potentially receiving hundreds of thousands of USD in prize money, in order to spend money inviting Palestine and New Zealand to play friendly matches in Chongqing.

China's goal was to face strong opponents to improve their skills and prepare thoroughly for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. The result was that China lost two consecutive matches, conceding eight goals and failing to score any.