In exploring the controversial match Adrian was referring to, many fans speculated that it might have been the very same 2018 match that was a stalemate in which Yatai challenged Guoan away from home. In the 97th minute of this heated contest, the referee decided to award a penalty kick after Wang Shouting was suspected of handball in the penalty area following a corner kick attack by Guoan. Immediately afterward, Jiang Zhe was sent off for accumulating two yellow cards. In the 99th minute, Soriano took the penalty and easily put the ball into the net, and the two teams finally shook hands 1-1. It is worth mentioning that in that season, Yatai was unfortunately relegated.
Adrian's comments have sent ripples through the fan circles. In my opinion, only an official body can give an authoritative explanation on whether that 1-1 draw between Beijing Guoan and Yatai was suspected of match-fixing. Looking back at the match, Wang Shouting's handball penalty was indeed quite controversial and seemed to have some subjective coloring. Whether the goalkeeper suffered "special care" is also an unanswered question.
