Shin Tae-yong Sentil AFC Ahead Of The Match Against Iraq In The Third Place Competition For The 2024 U-23 Asian Cup

JAKARTA - Indonesia U-23 national team coach Shin Tae-yong poked at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) ahead of the match against Iraq in the race for third place in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup. The main focus of the coach is the referee's leadership.

This South Korean tactician still has not fully accepted the referee's decision when the Indonesia U-23 vs Uzbekistan national team match in the semifinals. In the match which took place on Monday, April 29 evening, WIB, the Garuda Muda squad lost 0-2 accompanied by various controversies on the referee's side.

In that match the judge rewarded Shin with a yellow card from the sidelines. Not only that, Rizky Ridho was also given a red card and a number of other decisions.

Ahead of the crucial match against Iraq on Thursday, May 2, Shin was vocal about the referee's performance. The reason is, according to the referee's leadership coach, it will be crucial for the course of the match, this can also make his team who are often harmed may not play optimally.

"In the semifinal match, I still think a lot, the players have played well, but there are several situations, especially because of the referee's whistle, the fate of the match can change, so it is also difficult for me and my team," Shin Tae-yong said in a press conference ahead of the match on Ru, May 1.

As a form of his seriousness, Shin Tae-yong asked the AFC to improve on the referee's performance for the development of future football. He wants no indiscriminateness and the AFC is always in a neutral position to each team.

"In the future, if the AFC wants to develop its football, there must be respect that they give evenly to all teams and players, the AFC must be neutral to all teams, respect each other," he said.

The 53-year-old coach voiced that the unrest was not without reason, it was because he admitted that he had seen repeated video recordings of matches, and the referee's decision was hampered.

"I also saw the replay of the game several times, and based on my experience as a coach, the point is I just want to ask the AFC to respect all teams in Asia, so that the teams competing can respect each other too," said Shin Tae-yong.

Regardless of the details to the AFC regarding referees, the match between the Indonesia U-23 vs Iraq national team will be an important moment for the team. The reason is that if they manage to win, this will bring Garuda Muda to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Given how crucial this match is, Shin Tae-yong also hopes that the AFC can encourage the improvement of referee quality for a clean match.

"About Iraq's opponents, this is a third place match, all teams will certainly do their best and I hope the AFC helps us (by fixing the referee's performance), so that this match can run well," he said.