Mobs of Chinese Riot After World Cup Loss

Thousands of Chinese soccer fans rampaged Sunday through the streets of Peking, attacking foreigners, overturning cars and smashing windows after their national team lost a World Cup zone match to Hong Kong.

Witnesses said angry mobs of young Chinese spilled out of Peking’s 80,000-seat Workers’ Stadium following Hong Kong’s 2-1 win and began stoning passing cars and buses.

“They asked me who was better, Hong Kong or China and said if I answered wrong, they would kill me,” said a European who was surrounded by a gang of Chinese as he left the stadium.

“It was really ugly, I mean unbelievably ugly,” said Mary Lee, a correspondent for the Hong Kong-based Far Eastern Economic Review.

“I was horrified. They were pushing and pummeling and stoning my car as I tried to drive out of the stadium. They started pointing at me and screaming, ‘She’s from Hong Kong, a Hong Kong Chinese.’ ”

The mob threw a brick through the window of a car driven by a Soviet spectator, narrowly missing his child.

A taxi was rolled onto its side and about eight buses had all of their windows smashed out. Passengers aboard the buses fled in panic as the mobs surrounded the vehicles.

The mob also stopped a Yugoslav diplomat’s car, pulled open the door and tried to tear it off before the driver sped off.

“What was scary about it was that the police were not doing anything,” Lee said. “I went past three truckloads, and they weren’t doing anything about it.”

The Hong Kong soccer team was unable to leave the stadium for more than an hour, a spokesman said.

Dozens of baton-wielding police later gathered at an intersection outside the stadium but by then the crowds had dispersed.

Former world super-bantamweight and featherweight champion Wilfredo Gomez of Puerto Rico won his third world title by defeating World Boxing Assn. junior-lightweight champion Rocky Lockridge on a 15-round split decision at San Juan, P.R.

Gomez, 28, raised his career record to 42-2-1, while Lockridge, 26, of Tacoma, Wash., dropped to 36-4. Gomez weighed 129, Lockridge 128 1/2.

Lou Duva, Lockridge’s manager, complained bitterly about the decision.

“It wasn’t fair,” Duva said. “It’s the Panamanians and the WBA who are responsible.”

The two judges voting in favor of Gomez were from Panama. Isidro Rodriguez of Venezuela was the referee, and the WBA president is Gilberto Mendosa of Venezuela.

Lockridge also thought he won but said: “I can’t complain. The decision has been made, although I felt I did pull it out.”

Lockridge said the heat was the difference.

“Gomez outclassed me. He adjusted to the heat better than I did.”

Kelly McCormick won the women’s springboard, and Li Kongzheng won the men’s platform division in the windup of the McDonald’s USA vs. China diving meet at Orlando, Fla.

The United States edged China, 45-42, in the two-day meet.

McCormick totaled 539.60 points. In second place was Olympic gold medalist Li Yihua, with 522.85.

Kongzheng scored 685.65 points. He was followed by Bruce Kimball with 638.50.

Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth has nixed a suggestion that he run for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senator from California.

Ueberroth said he was not amused by recent speculation concerning political ambitions.

Names in the News

George Pat Malley, head football coach for 26 years at the University of Santa Clara, died Saturday in San Jose. He was 54.

Michael J. Parkinson of Chico was killed Sunday when his motorcycle crashed in an AMA event at Sears Point International Raceway in Sonoma.

Terry O’Reilly, 33, of the Boston Bruins is expected to announce his retirement today at a news conference called by the club.