LONDON, Feb 8: Chinese under-23 international Zheng Tao was knocked unconscious during a brawl in a football 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 statement on QPR’s Web site.

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.com 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 said.—Reuters