POPULAR stand-up comedian Zhou Libo has been caught in a swirl of controversy lately. Weeks after he was slammed by netizens for his demeaning comments on director and actor Xu Zheng, he was under fire this week after he allegedly ridiculed a student’s soccer dream and poured scorn on China’s scandal-ridden soccer league in a popular reality show.

Yuan Jun, a college student from Hubei Province, disclosed her experience at the Chinese Dream Show — a Chinese version of BBC’s Tonight’s the Night — and much of her blame was directed to the show’s “dream mentor” Zhou Libo.

Yuan wrote on Weibo.com that she was invited by Zhejiang TV Station last April to tell stories about how she learned to play soccer and has pursued her dream despite her parents’ objection.

However, Zhou kept interrupting her to start taunting Chinese soccer teams, Yuan said.

“Chinese soccer is so corrupt. Why do you still like it?” Zhou said. “Why were so many referees caught? Which of them do you like most?” He went on to say: “Your parents are right (to prevent you playing soccer). Girls shouldn’t play soccer! You will have a bleak future.” He also said that football “was a game invented and played by criminals,” according to Yuan’s accounts.

Even when another show host came to her defense and reminded her to say how she wished to play with Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, Zhou didn’t stop his attack. “You can go there by yourself,” he said and rejected her dream.

Though Zhejiang TV deleted her interview from the show and never aired it, Yuan’s post still triggered an outcry from netizens, including some eminent football players.

“Zhou has an awful mouth. He has let a small amount of fame go to his head. Chinese football is not that good, but many people are working hard to improve it. As a television personality, he should be careful about who and what he criticizes,” Wang Song, a famous footballer said on his microblog.

Another famous footballer, Li Yi, thought that Zhou’s comments were insults to Chinese football. “You have the right not to like Chinese football, but you can’t insult it. There are some problems in the Chinese football industry, but we are trying hard to change its direction. I think anyone who likes Chinese football will have something to say to Zhou. I am just the first to say it, “ Li, who uses the online name Emperor Li Yi, said.

Li’s words have gained much support from netizens and Chinese football fans. “People like Zhou have no right to comment on football. He can’t do anything but draw attention,” said a netizen called 67shi199tuan.

However, some netizens thought that Zhou was just speaking the truth and his words should be seen as a motivation to Chinese football and footballers.

Although Zhou refused to apologize for what he had said on the Internet and decided to stop updating his microblog on Jan. 21, the program production team apologized to the public.

“Zhou did ask Yuan those questions. Yuan might feel sad as Zhou did not agree with her points, so she took to her microblog to complain. The two just had a difference of opinion. But if she was upset, we are sincerely sorry,” Wang Zhengyu, spokesman of the program.

Zhou is no stranger to controversy. He recently had a spat with Xu Zheng, producer, writer and lead actor of the blockbuster comedy “Lost in Thailand,” and his fans a few weeks ago.

When asked to commend two top Chinese comedians, Zhou and Guo Degang, in a magazine interview, Xu praised Zhou for his early works but showed his disappointment in Zhou for his role as an entertainment show host. Xu said Zhou should “improve his delivery as a TV host,” which had outraged Zhou.

Zhou said on his Weibo that Xu was “too young and unimportant to criticize him” and “played a nice pig but a bad man.” Xu once played Pigsy, a pig-like character in “Journey to the West.”

Zhou ended up directing a foul-mouthed rant at his online critics.

(Wang Yuanyuan)