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Hulk denies punch

Afp, Shanghai

Tue May 9, 2017 12:00 AM Last update on: Tue May 9, 2017 05:16 PM

Shanghai SIPG’ Brazilian forward Hulk reacts during the AFC Asian Champions League group match. File Photo: AFP

Shanghai SIPG's Brazilian striker Hulk insisted he likes and respects "all of the Chinese people" as he rejected claims of a racially motivated assault on an assistant coach in the Chinese Super League.

Guizhou Zhicheng's head coach Li Bing has accused the muscular Brazilian of punching his assistant coach Yu Ming at half-time during SIPG's 3-0 victory on Saturday.

But Hulk, one of a number of highly paid foreign stars in the cash-rich Super League, denied any violent behaviour. SIPG has also said the incident "did not occur".

"Unfortunately they are trying to abuse my image," Hulk wrote in English on the Chinese microblogging website, Weibo, late Sunday.

"The coach of the adversary team is accusing me of aggression. Where did he see it? I didn't behave violently in any way!