“Korea was robbed”, “Disgusting judgment”…Asia’s public anger over ‘Japan’s biased judgment’

It wasn’t just the people of Korea who were left with regret about the game.

The Korean U-17 soccer team led by coach Byun Seong-hwan lost 0-3 to Japan in the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-17 Asian Cup final held at Pathum Thani Stadium in Thailand on the 2nd at 9:00 pm (Korean time). Korea challenged for the first time in 21 years since 2002, but had to be satisfied with the runner-up. On the other hand, Japan won two tournaments in a row and won four championships (the most wins).

Losing in football is always painful. If you lose in the final, regret will remain until the end of your career as a player. It’s not because we’re not good enough, nor because the opponent is good, but if it’s because of someone third.

That was the case with this final. It is undeniable that Japan performed better than Korea overall. It was like that from the preemptive point scene. Ko Jong-hyun, who received a warning in the 14th minute of the first half, was sent off in the 44th minute of the first half. When Japan launched an attack with a long pass from the rear, Ko Jong-hyun received a warning in a scene where he competed with a Japanese player.

It’s a very disappointing decision from Korea’s point of view. The Japanese player did not receive the pass correctly, nor was it a promising scoring opportunity. Ko Jong-hyeon also made an expression that he couldn’t understand the decision. The referee’s decision was maintained as it was a tournament where VAR review was not conducted.

Immediately after leaving, the situation became even more embarrassing. The location where Koh Jong-heon committed the foul was about 10 meters from the penalty box. However, the Japanese players brought the ball far ahead of the foul spot. This is a rare case in football games. This is because the closer you are to the goal, the more likely you are to score. But if that’s too much, the referee orders the ball back.

The location where the foul occurred was a location where it would be difficult to aim for a goal directly with a free kick, but the Japanese players put the ball forward and made it a position where they could directly aim for a goal. In the end, Nawata tried to score directly and led to Japan’s opening goal.

This was not the only absurd decision. In the 38th minute of the second half, Kim Myung-joon touched the ball inside the penalty box, and the moment he tried to dribble, he contacted the goalkeeper and fell. But the referee didn’t blow the whistle. In response, director Byeon Seong-hwan was angry and protested strongly. Rather, the referee gave a warning to director Byeon Seong-hwan, and the scene was skipped.

AFC posted the match results through the official channels after the finals were over. AFC posted a post congratulating Japan’s victory, saying, “Japan has achieved its 4th championship,” but public opinion was different. He was full of anger towards the judges.

One fan left an angry comment, “We don’t know why the Korean player was sent off, and we don’t know why he didn’t get a penalty kick in the second half. It’s an obvious misjudgment.” The overall atmosphere also pointed out the referee’s incompetence.메이저토토사이트

Another fan did not hesitate to make high-level remarks, saying, “Korea was robbed. I met a disgusting referee.” It is a story that the fans also felt that the referee’s unsatisfactory decision in this game had a huge influence on the outcome of the match.

After the game, coach Byeon Seong-hwan, who was disappointed with the referee’s decision, said, “I was very moved to see the players fighting on the field until the end. It hurt. I really want to have a revenge match once again,” indirectly expressing regret at the referee’s decision.

He added, “Personally, I feel a bit disappointed. In fact, it may change a little depending on the viewing angle, but from my point of view, I think there were a lot of regrets in today’s game management.”

The attitude of conceding to defeat is important, but the 90 minutes became even more disappointing due to the referee’s decision that made it difficult to concede defeat.