Latest news with #LeeChiKin
South China Morning Post
7 days ago
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong footballer makes Tai Po pledge, as club demand fee for any mainland China move
Hong Kong international Nicholas Benavides has pledged to never give up on his bid to win over Tai Po title-winning head coach Lee Chi-kin. The versatile left-footer has made as many appearances for the city team, six, as he has starts for Tai Po, since he joined from Sham Shui Po last summer. Rumours over a potential switch to the mainland were shut down by Lee, who said he had received no offers, but would want a transfer fee to allow Benavides to leave. 'We are a professional club and should receive a fee when a player has a contract,' Lee said. The player said he 'struggled a bit last term' but that he had pledged to keep going. 'It's about your mentality and whether you want to give up,' Benavides said. 'I won't. I always come and try to play, and will wait for my time to show the coach [I deserve to be selected]. 'He is keen for me to stay, I trust him, and am thankful for his trust. I will stay this season, fight for Tai Po, and keep working hard.' Benavides, 23, made his city team debut last October, and two months later scored in games against Mongolia and Guam. He came off the bench against both South Korea and China in this month's East Asian Championship.
South China Morning Post
13-05-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Football bosses observing VAR officials? Tai Po coach calls for transparency
Lee Chi-kin, the Tai Po head coach, has called for more transparency around football's use of VAR, and lamented a series of damaging calls against his team. During a potentially season-wrecking recent run, Tai Po conceded penalties in four straight matches, as they lost two cup semi-finals and drew a pair of league fixtures to surrender top spot to Lee Man. Lee claimed his players were 'scared to touch anyone in the box' during a restorative 3-2 victory at BC Rangers on Saturday. 'You can imagine the pressure on our players … it's a problem now – not a normal situation,' Lee said. 'I'm angry about it.' Tai Po felt Noah Baffoe (right) fouled Gabriel Cividini (left) before scoring. Photo: Jonathan Wong In addition to the penalty decisions, Tai Po felt wronged when a shove on defender Gabriel Cividini went unpunished in the lead-up to Eastern's first FA Cup semi-final goal. Lee also attributed his team's chronic injury situation to opponents being allowed to rough them up with impunity.
