Oman coach Paul Le Guen launched a furious tirade at the referee for not giving a “100 per cent” penalty in South Korea’s 1-0 Asian Cup win over his side on Saturday.
The South Koreans got off to a winning start in their quest for a first Asian Cup trophy in 55 years thanks to a goal from forward Cho Young-cheol in first-half injury time.
South Korea dominated possession at Canberra Stadium and had several chances to kill off the game, but they were lucky to take all three points after Oman almost snatched a draw late on.
Frenchman Le Guen said the outcome could have been different if New Zealand official Peter O’Leary had awarded a spot kick when striker Qasim Saeed looked to have been scythed down in the box.
“I don’t want to have an advantage – no, no. I ask for equity,” he said. “It’s a 100 per cent penalty, no hesitation. But [we didn’t get it] because of what? Because we are Oman? It’s a very, very bad decision at this level.
“Sometimes you can have a debate, but in this case there is no debate, no discussion. It’s a penalty, 100 per cent,” the former Lyon manager added. “The game could have been different after. If you are 1-0 up, it’s definitely different.”
South Korea were quickest out of the traps, and Bayer Leverkusen star Son Heung-min came closest to opening the scoring after seven minutes when he dinked the ball over Oman goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi, only for it to come back off the crossbar.
Al Habsi pushed away a stinging free kick five minutes before half time, and it looked as if Oman were going to go into the break level before Cho popped up with his goal.
The Qatar-based marksman broke the deadlock when he reacted quickest to bury a rebound after a parry from Al Habsi, a poacher’s goal that delighted a crowd overwhelmingly cheering for the Taeguk Warriors.
Oman were largely on the back foot, and their best attempt in the first half came when Eid Al Farsi curled a free kick wide.
Le Guen was livid at not being awarded the penalty, but when told about his angry rant, South Korea coach Uli Stielike appeared mystified.
“I saw the game like the referee saw it,” the German said. “I don’t know which situation he is talking about. There cannot be a clear penalty or I would remember the situation.”
More South Korea goals seemed certain after the interval, but resolute Oman defending kept the scoreline at 1-0.
“I prefer starting the tournament with a hard game like today rather than 5-0 win,” Stielike said. “Then everyone thinks you are already going to win the cup, so maybe this is the better way.”
South Korea, one of the tournament favourites, last won the Asian Cup in 1960.
Elsewhere, NORTH KOREA coach Jo Tong-sop said his team were far from done at the Asian Cup despite their 1-0 defeat to UZBEKISTAN on Saturday.
The caretaker manager said torrential rain had not helped his team as they narrowly missed out to the 2011 semi-finalists in Sydney.
Igor Sergeev’s second-half header gave Uzbekistan the win as the 2011 semi-finalists shrugged off heavy rain.
North Korea, who saw Pak Kwang-ryong’s header clawed away by keeper Ignatiy Nesterov on the final whistle, have Group B games to come against Saudi Arabia and China.
“We have two more matches in the group stage. We still have a chance and we don’t want to lose it,” Jo said.
Jo is deputising for Yun Jong-su, who is serving a one-year ban for his fist-shaking rant after North Korea’s narrow loss to South Korea at the Asian Games final in October.
Jo said rain, which came down in sheets by half time, had made life difficult for his team, who were undone by a swift counter-attack on 62 minutes.
“The rain did disturb our play. We couldn’t play so well because of the rain. The rain did give some trouble to our team’s perfect play,” he said.
Controversial striker Nasser Al Shamrani was ruled out of the Asian Cup with an abdominal injury on Friday on the eve of Saudi Arabia’s opening game against China, and his side clearly missed the forward as they went down 1-0 to a late goal.
Midfielder Yu Hai struck in the 81st-minute to secure victory in Brisbane.
A Group B game between two evenly matched sides appeared to be headed for a draw until Yu’s free kick from 30 metres out took a wicked deflection and left Saudi keeper Waleed Abdullah stranded.
China dominated the first half, but Saudi Arabia improved after the interval and should have taken the lead in the 59th minute after Naif Hazazi was awarded a penalty, but his tame spot kick allowed goalkeeper Wang Dalei to save with his legs.
The Saudis paid for their lack of precision in front of goal, with Salem Al Dawsari and Mustafa Al Bassas also squandering good opportunities.
Al Shamrani, who sparked a melee at the end of the Asian Champions League final in November, is out with an abdominal injury and was replaced by Al Nasr midfielder Ibrahim Ghaleb in the Saudi squad.
The Al Hilal striker is deeply unpopular with Australian fans after he aimed a headbutt and spat at Western Sydney Wanderers defender Matthew Spiranovic at the club final in November, prompting a mass shoving match.
He was handed an eight-match Champions League ban for his actions, but not before he was named Asian player of the year for his 10 goals in the tournament.
Al Shamrani’s stock plummeted still further in Australia after he appeared to shove a fan on his way out of the tunnel ahead of this month’s friendly with Bahrain in Geelong.
His loss is a major blow to Saudi Arabia’s efforts to win a fourth Asian Cup title after victories in 1984, 1988 and 1996.
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