One of China's Hottest Prospects Zhang Xiuwei Faces 9 Month Ban After Lying About His Age

An upcoming start in Chinese football faces a nine month ban from football, after it has emerged that he had been bending the truth over his age. 

Zhang Xiuwei plays for Tianjin Quanjian in the Chinese Super League, the club finished in 3rd place last season resulting in them securing Champions League qualification. He stared as one of the club's U23 players, playing 17 times in the Super League. 

Now, as reported by Spanish newspaper Marca, the midfielder faces a nine month lay off due to being dishonest about his real age. 

It is reported that the discovery came about after Xiuwei caused a car crash when driving back from a night out. 

After inspection of the player's documents, It emerged that the parents of the the 21-year-old had changed their son's name and date of birth in order to ensure that he would qualify to attend Primary school before the permitted age.

Xiuwei's actual date of birth is January 13, 1996, but the date was changed to January 13, 1994. When it started to become clear that the player could have a future in professional football, his parents did change his date of birth and name back, however, it has been found that there is there are records of a Zhang Jixuan, born in 1994, within the Chinese Football Federation.

Since the revelation, the player has been given a nine month suspension from all competitions, he already missed the final third of the Super League season due to the ongoing issue, and will now be out of action until after the 2018 World Cup.