Dalian (China), Aug 24 (IANS): Guangzhou Evergrande head coach Fabio Cannavaro has apologised to his defender Zhang Linpeng for hinting that he was brainless for being sent off in a Chinese Super League match.

Zhang, 31, picked up his second yellow card in the 38th minute in Evergrande's 2-1 win over Jiangsu Suning last Thursday, and TV pictures showed Cannavaro striking his own shaved head with his right clenched fist and yelling "nothing inside" to Zhang as the defender walked past him, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Italian later expressed his apology to Zhang when he talked to the press after the game.

"I would like to take this opportunity to say sorry to Zhang Linpeng," Cannavaro said through an interpreter.

"It was normal for me to criticize him. I just wanted to remind him to calm down and to play the game in a smarter way," the coach added.

"But I should not have made that gesture when the game was televised live. It was my fault. In the meantime, I wanted to note that a player his age should read the game calmly," he concluded.--IANS