Son Heung-min and Kang-in were caught in a rough foul… Yellow cards: Korea 5, Bahrain 2.
Lee Kang-in trips over a foul
(Doha = Yonhap) Kim Do-hoon reports on the match between South Korea and Bahrain at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 2023 Asian Cup Group E match at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Friday (June 15). South Korea’s Lee Kang-in stumbles after being fouled by Bahrain’s Mohammed Marhoon. 2024.1.15 superdoo82@yna.co.kr
SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Yonhap) – A “refereeing caution” has been issued to the Klinsmanns as they seek to regain their first Asian title in 64 years.
South Korea’s Jürgen Klinsmann-led national soccer team defeated Bahrain 3-1 in their first match of Group E of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 2023 Qatar Asian Cup on Friday at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar.
A win in the most important first match of any tournament eased the way to a first Asian Cup title in 64 years.
However, the match was not without its crises.
Three players – Park Yong-woo (Al Ain), Kim Min-jae (Munich) and Lee Ki-jae (Suwon) – received a series of yellow cards between the ninth and 28th minutes of the first half, raising concerns.
The warnings for the Taeguk Warriors continued in the second half. Cho Kyu-sung (Meatwillan) was shown a yellow card in the 16th minute of the second half, and even “ace” Son Heung-min was shown a yellow card in the 49th minute.
South Korea received a total of five yellow cards against Bahrain, the second-most in the tournament behind Palestine, who received six against Iran.
Son Heung-min clashes with Bahrain’s Ibrahim Al-Wahri
(Doha = Yonhap) Kim Dohun Kim reports on the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 2023 Asian Cup Group E match between South Korea and Bahrain at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar on June 15, 2015. South Korea’s Son Heung-min stumbles after being fouled by Bahrain’s Ibrahim Al Wahri.
Bahrain received two yellow cards, one less than South Korea.
So far, 31 yellow cards have been issued in the 10 group games, a rate of 3.1 per game, including seven in the Korea-Bahrain game.
The problem is that there was a lot of room to question the equity of referee Manning, who is Chinese.
Despite receiving fewer warnings, it was the Bahraini players who committed the most fouls.
Especially in the second half, the fouls were concentrated on Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in, the core of Klinsmann’s attack.
The two players were lying on the ground with their faces contorted in pain. At one point, there was even a moment when they looked like they might be injured.
The Korean coaching staff, including Klinsmann, made several appeals to the referees in the technical area, but they were unable to change the tone of the game.
Football commentator Han Jun-hee said, “It’s true that (Manning) is a referee with a lot of cards in the first place. However, the calls were not very favorable to us.”
Klinsmann watching the match
(Doha = Yonhap) Kim Do Hoon = South Korea vs Bahrain in the Group E match at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup 2023 at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Friday (July 15).
Head coach Jürgen Klinsmann looks on during the match.
The ‘refereeing problem’ that has plagued Klinsmann since the first edition could resurface at any time in the quest for the title.
Asian Football Confederation (AFC)-organized competitions such as the Asian Cup and Champions League are officiated by referees from Asia.
Compared to other federation-organized competitions, such as the FIFA World Cup, which brings in top-notch referees from around the world, the quality of refereeing is inevitably lower, and there have been criticisms.
If you can’t avoid it, you can only ‘manage’ it.
It is better to reduce the number of situations in which officiating problems can occur. It’s better to play with the assumption that there is always a chance of an unfavorable call.
It is also a trend in world soccer that referees actively use yellow cards to prevent possible injuries to players.
“We shouldn’t be too sensitive about the referees, and we should play with the expectation that they can be strict and conservative with us at any time,” says Han Jun-hee. “It’s also good to get to know the referees quickly during the game, and avoid making unnecessary misleading moves. This is true for any referee you encounter.”