Klinsmann won 1-0 against Iraq at 10 p.m. on the 6th (Korea time) at New York University Stadium in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
In the 40th minute of the first half, Seol Young-woo on the right gave the ball that flowed in the mix in the Iraqi box to Lee Jae-sung with a right-footed cutback pass, and Lee Jae-sung, who caught the ball in front of the box, shook the net with a strong left-footed mid-range shot to win 1-0.
While the referee's disappointing ruling continued, a critical misjudgment came out. Son Heung-min, who flooded into the Iraqi box after receiving a penetration pass from Lee Kang-in in the 21st minute of the second half, tripped over goalkeeper Zalah Hasan's hand regardless of the ball. If the ruling is made normally, a penalty kick for Korea could be declared. However, the UAE national referee, who was in charge of the match, declared that it was not a foul and resumed the match. As there was no VAR, the referee could not overturn the ruling after double-checking.
Another absurd thing happened in the 39th minute of the second half. There was a competition on the right sideline, and with Lee Kang-in catching the ball first, the position was not good and Lee Kang-in tried to take the ball away again. At this time, there was a collision where their feet collided with each other, and Ahmed Yahia of Iraq, who was stepped on, pushed Lee Kang-in's face hard in anger. The beaten Lee Kang-in naturally resisted, and when Yahia pushed Lee Kang-in hard again, Lee Kang-in had no choice but to bump together.
The referee stopped Lee and even strongly warned the Iraqi players. However, the referee gave both players yellow cards. Lee was hit twice, but he gave the same yellow card. Lee, who had already received one yellow card, had no choice but to be sent off due to accumulation of warnings.
The victim and the perpetrator who were hit twice received the same warning. The referee, who had already not declared a penalty without VAR in the penalty scene of Son Heung-min, left a feeling of awkwardness with the absurd decision.
Was VAR's absence the only reason for the dubious decision at the match? Middle Eastern football has been notorious for bad judgment and sleeper football, instilling bad memories in Korean football. Middle Eastern countries' soccer has been imprinted with the image of villains to Korean soccer fans, which is comparable to China's non-manner-home call.
Of course, there is no guarantee that Korea will suffer misjudgment from Middle East referees at the Asian Cup. However, it is also true that there are many things that make us nervous. In a match against Iraq, a Middle East country, a referee from UAE, a Middle East country, made an unfair judgment. If a Middle East referee is assigned at the Asian Cup in Qatar, it would be hard to rule out the possibility of repetition of nightmares even if there is a VAR.
Will South Korea be able to avoid a game marred by misjudgment in the Asian Cup with VAR? The match against Iraq touched the trauma of Korean soccer, which suffered from the non-manner history of Middle Eastern soccer.
BY: 토토