Lines should be clear between passion and obsession of fans

The Chinese Table Tennis Association last week showed its commitment to protecting coaches and athletes from extreme fan behavior, including drawing up a stadium entry ban list to keep overzealous fans away from sports arenas. The decision follows a disturbing incident at the World Table Tennis China Smash, where national team coach Wang Hao was accosted by a group in a venue corridor. These individuals shouted demands about player selection and hurled insults at Wang.

In response, Wang called the police for assistance. On Saturday, police issued a statement that three fans, including a 16-year-old, have been given administrative detention for serious defamation and insults, while 17 others involved in minor misconduct have been reprimanded.

This is not an isolated incident. In 2023, star player Fan Zhendong reported a frightening experience where he was stalked for several days. Someone managed to obtain the key to his hotel room from the front desk and illegally entered his room multiple times.

In its latest statement, the CTTA emphasized the harmful effects of such extreme behavior, noting that coaches and athletes have faced insults, rumors, harassment and personal attacks, which have spread from stadiums to the internet. Beyond creating a stadium entry ban list, the association will also work with relevant authorities to address extreme behavior in accordance with laws and regulations.

Fueling this issue is the phenomenon of fan quan, or fan circles, which originated in the entertainment industry. Fan circles are highly organized groups of passionate and intensely loyal fans who share information about their idols and voluntarily dedicate their time, money and expertise to boosting their popularity and influence. In sports, this mindset has fostered a toxic culture where fans of one athlete treat fans of another as adversaries. They engage in online harassment, coordinated attacks, and even physical intimidation to demonstrate their loyalty.

As early as 2021, the Chinese Olympic Committee explicitly called for measures to prevent the spread of fan quan disorder into sports. This year, the General Administration of Sport of China vowed to clean up sports fan quan in its campaigns. The Cyberspace Administration of China has also taken action to deal with the issue.

Against this backdrop, the CTTA’s proposed entry ban list is a necessary and timely step. Such bans are not unheard of. European football has long used stadium bans to keep hooligans out, and the Chinese Football Association announced plans to establish a similar blacklist system this year.

However, a policy is only as effective as its enforcement. To make the ban list work, the CTTA must define clear criteria and tiered penalties for different levels of misconduct. It also needs to strengthen coordination with public security and cyberspace authorities because the abuse does not stop at the stadium gate — it continues through text messages, phone calls and social media platforms. Without cross-departmental cooperation, an association ban can be easily circumvented.

Athletes and coaches deserve an environment where they can focus on competition, not on defending themselves against organized hostility. The entry ban list, if properly implemented, can help draw a clear line between passionate support and dangerous obsession. Let passion have warmth, let expression have limits, and let the stadium be a place for sport once again.