It is absurd itself. Chinese media highlighted the elimination of South Korea and Japan, saying that referee Manning will serve as the referee for the final match, praising themselves as the “only light” of East Asia.
China’s Sohu Dotcom wrote on the 8th (Korea Standard Time), “The light of East Asia beyond Japan and South Korea! Judge Manning will be the referee in the Asian Cup final. West Asian powerhouses Jordan and Qatar are reaching their peak as they advance to the Asian Cup final. And there was interesting news. It is news that China’s referee Manning will be the referee in the final, which is not only recognized for his personal ability, but also an important breakthrough for Chinese soccer on the international stage.”
He went on to add, “The Asian Cup final lacked East Asian elements due to a series of eliminations by East Asian teams. However, this can be helped by the presence of referee Manning. He received a lot of praise for his fair and professional judging style in the competition. Judge Manning is both a pride of Chinese soccer and an honor of East Asian soccer. As the only referee representing East Asia, Manning will deliver the spirit and charm of East Asian soccer to the world in the final.”
Finally, he said, “Chinese soccer has undergone many twists and turns and tests in recent years, but the Chinese soccer community should unite and cooperate based on referee Manning. Judge Manning’s success tells us that if we work hard and constantly improve, we can get better results on the international stage.”
China was the shame of East Asia in this year’s event. Having played against Qatar, Tajikistan, and Lebanon in the group stage, China was ranked third in the group with two draws and one loss, along with a humiliating record of no points and one loss. The top four teams in the group were given a wild card of the round of 16, but they could not grab it with two points. As a result, China was eliminated from the group stage and had to pack early.
As the media mentioned, Korea and Japan made it to the quarterfinals and above, respectively. Korea had one win and two draws in the group stage, followed by Saudi Arabia in the round of 16, and Australia in the round of 8 before advancing to the semifinals. Japan had two wins and one loss in the group stage, and then successfully advanced to the quarterfinals by overpowering Bahrain in the round of 16. However, Japan was blocked by Jordan and Iran, respectively, and had to suffer from elimination. Korea failed to win the championship, but it was much better than China.
Against this backdrop, China could only present itself as a referee. According to Sohu, referee Manning will be the referee in the Jordan vs. Qatar game. During his career, referee Manning played 293 games, lifting 1,276 yellow cards (including cumulative exits) and 40 direct red cards. He often gives too many cards. 마카오토토
Controversy arose in this year’s event. While being generous to Bahraini players in the match, the team gave five yellow cards to Korean players. In the match against Qatar, the team did not give any cards to Qatar players who made dangerous tackles, but gave three yellow cards to Palestinian players. In addition, Qatar gave extra time short even though it played bed soccer. Chinese soccer is currently playing well in China, where such a referee likes to play in the final.