Fans blast South Korean referee after Malaysia fall 2-0 to China
KUALA LUMPUR: Although it was only a friendly, the standard of officiating during Malaysia's clash against China in Guangdong on Saturday has drawn fierce backlash from local football fans.
Malaysia's football fans expressed strong disapproval over the performance of South Korean referee Ko Hyung Jin during a friendly match against China in Guangdong. The clash, held at the Zhaoqing New District Sports Centre Stadium, saw fans take to social media to express their frustration over several questionable calls made by the referee.
Among the major concerns were Hyung Jin's failure to award penalties for fouls committed by Dion Cools and Ramadhan Saifullah inside the penalty box. The 77th-minute goal scored by Fergus Tierney, which was initially ruled out following a VAR review, sparked confusion as replays suggested the goal should have stood, given the involvement of a Chinese player in the build-up.
Tierney's disallowed goal sparked online debates, with fans questioning the overall accuracy of the referee's decisions, as two penalties and the offside call appeared to be questionable. Another fan, eddy_ruzaidi, criticized Hyung Jin for ignoring rough play by the home defenders, stating that Chinese defenders were pushing and pulling Malaysian players' shirts, which negatively impacted the game's tempo.
Despite these issues, the South Korean official had a history of officiating Malaysian teams, having previously managed a FIFA Asean Cup match against Indonesia and Malaysia's third-place playoff against Vietnam. Malaysia will seek redemption against world No. 144 Yemen in their next friendly match at the same venue.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
