Tianjin Teda players went on strike on Tuesday after being asked to sign new long-term contracts with the Chinese Super League club, local media reported.
The players are unhappy at being asked to sign deals of five years for younger players and two years for their more experienced teammates. The club hopes long-term contracts will prevent players going abroad on free transfers, as happened earlier this year when Shandong Luneng's Zhou Haibin moved to Dutch club PSV Eindhoven and Feng Xiaoting left Dalian Shide for South Korea's Daegu FC.
None of Tianjin's Chinese players turned up for training on Tuesday after negotiations broke down. The Chinese Football Association said it had no information about the incident and would not intervene in the club's internal affairs.
(Shanghai Daily June 25, 2009)
