Indonesian National Team Against China, Shin Tae-yong Hopes Referee Will Be Fair

JAKARTA - The Indonesian national team coach, Shin Tae-yong, will guard the squad against China in the 2026 Asian Zone World Cup Qualification continued match.

Reflecting on the match against Bahrain, he hopes that the referee who leads the match will be fair.

The Indonesian national team will be treated by China at the Qingdao Youth Football Stadium on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, at 19.00 WIB. The Garuda squad came with a fairly good capital after winning three draws in three matches that have been played.

In fact, in the last match against Bahrain, the Indonesian national team could have won. The reason is, the Garuda Squad was already winning 2-1 until the match entered the 90th minute.

However, they had to be missed in the 90+9 minute so that the match ended in a 2-2 draw.

The late goal from Bahrain was controversial and did not escape the leadership of referee Ahmed Al Kaf. The reason is, the referee from Oman never blew the long whistle even though the time had passed from the additional six minutes given.

Remembering the incident, Shin Tae-yong revealed that the Indonesian national team's victory was robbed in that match. According to him, there is a lot of evidence showing how referees are not fair.

"Honestly, against Bahrain, our victory was robbed," Shin Tae-yong said in a press conference before the match, quoted on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.

"You can all see how much time is more than the time has been determined. Referees don't blow whistles, they should be able to fix this," he said.

Shin Tae-yong doesn't want something like that to happen again. Not only in the Indonesian national team match, but also in other teams. Therefore, he hopes that the referee who will lead the Chinese vs Indonesia match can act fairly.

"After all, a match is only not for Indonesia, but this is for all teams. Hopefully in the future a match must go well and be carried out fairly," said Shin Tae-yong.

Apart from that, the match between China vs the Indonesian national team will be important for both teams.

You see, both teams both carried out a mission to win their first victory in Group C in order to maintain hope for the 2026 World Cup.