Key Points
- Fans say they weren't allowed to bring Taiwan flags to a basketball game.
- They say it seemed 'one-sided'.
Fans of Taiwan's basketball team say they felt confused and "singled out" after "bizarre" rules prevented them from displaying Taiwan flags at a basketball game.
On Friday night, Chinese Taipei played against China at an International Basketball Federation Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifier game at John Cain Arena in Melbourne Park.
China won the game 94-58.
Andrew Farrugia, an Australian basketball fan with family ties to Taiwan, says he was stopped by security personnel as he tried to enter the arena while carrying a Taiwan flag.
"He produced a document claiming Taiwanese flags aren't permitted in the arena, and that the flag had to be put in the cloakroom before I could enter," Mr Farrugia said.
"I was a bit confused because this hasn't really happened before, but he cited that there had been trouble the night before between protesters and Chinese fans."
Andrew Farrugia says he believes Taiwanese fans were "singled out" and stopped from displaying their flags at a World Cup Qualifier against China in Melbourne. Source: Supplied
FIBA told SBS News the use of flags at games was limited to approved countries and federations.
"As per FIBA regulations and venue rules, during competitions and draws, only flags and anthems of the countries or affiliated National Member Federations approved and recognised by FIBA may be used, in addition to the FIBA flag and the flag of the respective competition, if any," FIBA said.
"Moreover, FIBA Venue Rules do not allow for persons to make any declarations, statements or other actions that display a nationalistic, political, religious, ethnic or racist message not fit for a sporting competition."
Within FIBA, Taiwan competes under the banner of Chinese Taipei, and does not use the traditional Taiwanese flag.
Mr Farrugia says this was the first time he had seen this rule enforced.
"I've seen Taiwan play before here in Melbourne, but this is the first time it's happened to me," he said.
"I understand that for Taiwan to participate in international tournaments (it) needs to play under the banner of Chinese Taipei, but I don't see why there should be any restrictions on me bringing this particular flag. Who is making these decisions?"
Taiwanese supporters Li-Ling Lin and Yi-Ting Lee say while they were allowed to bring their flag in on Friday night, they noticed there were not many others.
"I did see some small banners, but we were probably holding the largest flag," they said.
The women also observed an increased security presence, which they attributed to the incident the night before.
Yi-Ting Lee was allowed to wear her Taiwanese flag into the basketball game, but did not see many others. Source: Supplied
"I thought there might be some sort of stadium policy that you can't have flags over seats in general - but then I noticed a whole bunch of massive Chinese flags doing the same thing all around the stadium," he said.
"Whether (the direction) was from FIBA or the stadium, or just security and police working together... it was really strange. I can't think of a time when I've seen anything like this in Australia, it was quite bizarre."
At a FIBA game on Thursday night, human rights protesters advocating for Tibet and Hong Kong were removed from the venue during a game between Australia and China.
FIBA told SBS News several individuals were escorted out of the venue on 30 June following "improper behaviour."
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