Hong Kong soccer chief admits to playing a role in former China boss Alain Perrin’s downfall

Hong Kong played a role in the sacking of China national team coach Alain Perrin after confirmation from the mainland that the Frenchman was told to leave after a meeting with Chinese officials on Thursday.

[Perrin was widely expected to be fired after his side were held to a scoreless draw in Hong Kong.

China were the top seeds in group C when the qualification draw was made in April last year, but they have struggled against supposed lesser teams and currently sit third in the group after six matches with 11 points behind Qatar and Hong Kong, who are second and have only a very slim hope of catching leaders Qatar, who have 18 points.

Photo: AP] Despite an impressive showing at the AFC Asian Cup, Perrin failed to turnaround the fortunes of China’s national team.