LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Chinese under-23 international Zheng Tao was knocked unconscious during a brawl in a match against Queens Park Rangers at the English club's training ground on Wednesday, media reports said. The club said on Thursday it would conduct an internal investigation into the incident, which caused Premier League referee Dermot Gallacher to abandon the friendly with QPR winning 2-1 in the second half. 'The club abhor violence of any sort and do not condone the actions taken by anyone involved,' said a QPR statement. Xian Chanba defender Zheng was unconscious for five minutes after the fighting, which was sparked when Gao Lin hit a player from the English second division club. Web portal Sina said Zheng had broken his jaw and lost a tooth in the clash. 'I've never seen anything like it in my life,' a witness told the Ealing Gazette newspaper. 'There were punches, kung-fu kicks and all sorts. It was absolute mayhem.' The Chinese Olympic team for next year's Beijing Games are in England for a two-week stay at Chelsea's training complex in Cobham. Shanghai Shenhua striker Gao, who could be sent home, said he had been provoked. 'I failed to control myself in the match,' he said in an apology. 'When facing the provocation I failed to obey the three rules of submitting to the referee, respecting opponents, and not striking back, which caused the incident ... I sincerely apologise to the fans.' Chinese Olympic team manager Li Xiaoguang insists he will take full responsibility for the mass brawl. In a statement, he declared: 'The incident that happened at QPR training ground has hurt the image of the Chinese Olympic team. 'As the team manager, I would like, on behalf of the team to make an official apology to all fans supporting our team, as well as to all media friends. 'Whatever the reasons for the incident, as the team manager, I will take the responsibility. Although the participants in this incident were the players, I will take all the blame. 'After the match with Chelsea reserve team, we have noticed some of the young players cannot control themselves well. The coaching team even held a special meeting on it. 'On Feb 6, the head coach, Ratomir Dujkovic made a formal speech before the training session and asked the players to behave well on the pitch. In the afternoon of that day, Chinese coaching staff conducted individual talks with all players. 'Even before the match against QPR, the coaching staff again emphasised the discipline with all the starting XI players. 'At the pre-game meeting, I pointed out three basic requirements for all players as: 1. Say yes to referee; 2. Respect the opponents and 3. No counter-attack for any verbal and physical offences. 'However, the unexpected incident happened in any case. I will be conducting a serious inquiry into it. 'We have learnt a lesson from this incident and it will help us to strengthen our management and education of the young players and finally prevent it from happening again.' Source - ESPN soccernet
