Chinanews.com, January 1 On the evening of the 16th, Beijing time, in the first round of the group stage of the men's Asian Cup, the South Korean team defeated the Bahrain team 15:3 to get off to a good start. In addition to the results of the game, the discussion also spread to the Chinese referee team who were in charge.
In this game, the four Chinese referees are: referee Ma Ning, assistant referee Zhou Fei, Zhang Cheng and video assistant referee Fu Ming. This is also the debut of the Chinese referee team in this Asian Cup.
Data map: Chinese referee Ma Ning. Image source: ICphoto
According to public information, Ma Ning was selected as the referee of the Qatar World Cup and served as the fourth official, and also worked with Zhou Fei, Zhang Cheng and Fu Ming to officiate the opening match of the Club World Cup and the final of the AFC Champions League.
In the match between South Korea and Bahrain, Ma Ning showed a total of 7 yellow cards, 5 of which were given to South Korea.
After the start of the game, Park Yong-woo, Kim Min-jae, and Lee Ji Di received yellow cards one after another, and the South Korean team had three warnings in the opening 30 minutes. In the broadcast footage, these penalties caused dissatisfaction among many South Korean fans at the scene.
After that, Cho Gyu-sung received a yellow card for defensive actions. In stoppage time, South Korea's star Son Heung-min fell in the penalty area, and Ma Ning believed that he had faked a fall and showed the last yellow card of the game.
After the game, referee Ma Ning became the target of "bombardment" by the South Korean media.
Image source: Screenshot of the website of "Seoul Sports".
South Korean media OSEN wrote an article commenting: "Is the Chinese referee who gave Kim Min-jae a card deliberately destroying Korean football? ”
Brutal acts and evil deeds, this is the evaluation of the referee made by the South Korean media in the article: "The South Korean team is moving forward like a time bomb because of the Chinese referee. ”
South Korean media "Seoul Sports" published an article titled "From the Excessive Use of Yellow Cards by Unfair Chinese Referees to the Absurd Handball Common in 'Community Football'...... Klinsmann overcame a difficult first game" article. It was mentioned that the referee Ma Ning's punishment was very strict, but lacked consistency. "The referee was easy to show a yellow card to a Korean player, but the referee did not indicate it when the Korean player was fouled or tackled dangerously by the opponent. ”
"Seoul Sports" revealed that after the game, South Korean fans booed Ma Ning, while South Korean coach Klinsmann also protested.
South Korean team player Son Heung-min in the game (data map)
According to media reports, Klinsmann did not shake hands with the referee after the match. The former said in the post-match press conference that the yellow card shown by the referee affected the line-up of the team: "We have to think about a lot of situations and yellow cards can happen at any time. ”
In another article in Seoul Sports, Son Heung-min responded to receiving a yellow card for a fake fall at the last minute. He said: "It wasn't a fake fall, I fell to avoid colliding with my opponent and got a yellow card. ”
Image source: Screenshot of the website of "Seoul Sports".
However, outside the South Korean media, there are also a large number of voices that the referee Ma Ning's decision is not wrong and is normal.
On social media, many Japanese fans who watched the game said that the number of yellow cards was reasonable, and that the South Korean players were too rude.
"The number of yellow cards is at a reasonable level, and the Korean players are really easy to play rough. ”
"I just watched the replay and the South Korean team was rough at the beginning. ”
"The AFC should be harsh on the rudeness of the South Korean team. There is no doubt that it is dangerous and the foul is very insidious. ”
"When Japan plays against South Korea, you don't have to win, at least no one gets hurt that way. ”
"If you want to vent your anger, don't vent it to the referee, but to the players who make dangerous moves. ”
"The South Korean players kicked people and were as rough as ever. ”
Image source: Screenshot of netizen comments
In the eyes of some Chinese fans, there was no problem with the penalty for Sun Xingmin's fake fall, and there was no inconsistency in the scale of Ma Ning's yellow card throughout the game.
In response to Ma Ning's ruling, many domestic media have also expressed their views. "Beijing Youth Daily" believes that starting from the whole game, Ma Ning's punishment was accurate, and the continuous cards did not exceed the scope of the rules. "Football News" wrote that the Chinese referee team led by Ma Ning did not make obvious mistakes in the whole game, and the performance of the first Asian Cup is completely worthy of recognition.
What do you think of this controversy?