On August 18, three申花 fans were detained after confronting a father and son wearing Wu Lei's national team jersey following a 0-3 home loss to Beijing国安. Shanghai police confirmed the arrests, citing verbal abuse from the fans. As of August 21,申花 has issued no official statement, sparking fan outrage. Fan groups announced plans to boycott the next home match, with some leaving protest slogans at the training base.
The club's official account posted a match recap on August 21, but the comments section was flooded with anger. Fans accused leadership of 'discarding the blue 12 jersey and leaving the red 7 for you to deserve' and questioned their indifference to the fan community. 'Why are external media slandering申花 fans? Are you blind?' and 'Rename to Shanghai Jiushis Football Club, stop diluting the 'Shanghai申花' brand' became common posts. The most resonant message was 'Incompetence, do you deserve such loyal fans?'
The core issue lies in申花's silence toward its fans. Supporters argue the club has neither addressed the detained fans nor responded to media attacks on the fan base. One fan noted, 'Your fans are being slandered, yet you remain indifferent,' questioning the leadership's stance against rival water armies. Currently,申花 has yet to issue an official response, with fan sentiment continuing to escalate.
