Soccer Dilemmas and Prospects
Recently, domestic soccer reporter Ma Xing disclosed that at the AFC General Assembly held in October, AFC Deputy Secretary General South Korea Shin Wan-gil expressed his gratitude to the Qatar Football Association (QFA) for lending a helping hand to the 2023 Asian Cup after it was forced to cancel the tournament. He indirectly criticized the CFA for "irresponsibly" giving up hosting the tournament, which caused great distress to the AFC.
In the recent AFC Champions League clash between Wuhan Sanzhen and Urawa Red Diamonds, the referee made a number of calls that went against Chinese side Wuhan Sanzhen. Deng Hanwen suffered an unexplained penalty in the first half, while an apparent handball by the opposing team in the second half went uncalled for, despite VAR confirming the handball.
There were also glaring misjudgments in the World Cup qualifying round of 36 Asian matches in which the Chinese national team was victimized. For example, the referee failed to award a penalty when Hwang Sai Chan fell to the ground in the match against South Korea. And there was controversy over referee Jasim's handling of an injury to Hwang In-Fan.
In the second half, Dai Weijun's pass hit Huang Renfan, who fell to the ground, and the referee immediately called off the game, sparking controversy. Wu Lei was yellow-carded for his dissatisfaction with the referee. However, Wei Shihao had been lying on the ground in the first half and the referee turned a blind eye.
Ma Xing pointed out that the dilemma facing Chinese soccer cannot be ignored. Abandonment of the Asian Cup to the AFC and Asian soccer brought incalculable losses, the negative impact is difficult to eliminate in the short term. At present, Chinese soccer is isolated in the Asian soccer world, unfair judgment in the future may become the norm.
Recalling the provocative incident involving Buriram United at Zhejiang's home ground, which triggered a massive mass brawl, the final result of the AFC's punishment has yet to be announced. Given the AFC's recent bias against Chinese soccer, the Zhejiang team could face a heavy penalty.
In the face of internal and external problems, how to deal with Chinese soccer? Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) President Yao Ming's "rely on yourself" no longer seems to apply. Song Kai, the new FA president, needs to restart soccer diplomacy and raise the status of Chinese soccer in the AFC. With the help of existing resources, such as referees such as Ma Ning, who have been enforcing important AFC events, referee public relations work should be carried out to create a fair environment for the World Cup qualifying matches.
Looking back at the 2018 World Cup Qualifier Asian Zone 12, the national soccer team managed to keep the promotion suspense until the last round, in addition to Lippi's command, the referee's fair law enforcement also played a key role. Cai Zhenhua, former president of the CFA, did a good job in this regard. Song Kai can learn from his predecessor's experience.
