Although the Chinese Super League is currently on a break, three teams still have matches to play - Shandong Taishan, Wuhan Sanzhen and Zhejiang in the AFC Champions League.
All three teams lost in the second round of the AFC Champions League group stage, with Wuhan Sanzhen losing the worst. They lost 1-3 away to South Korean team Pohang Steelers. Objectively speaking, Three Town played quite well in this match. Facing a K-League team that specializes in physicality and forcing ferocious tackles, Wuhan Three Town still played with the essence of passing and control. If Xie Pengfei hadn't been given a straight red card for shoveling in the first half, Sancheng could have come out of the game in one piece on the road.
Although Xie Pengfei didn't intentionally shovel an opposing player, and the range of motion wasn't particularly large, he clearly earned the Pohang Steelers player of the match. But the red card was not a bad one to eat at all. Any referee, faced with such a dangerous and injurious action by a player on the field, would surely choose to show a yellow card.
However, the Chinese Super League referees may be the only exception. As we all know, due to the epidemic, the Football Association has not hired foreign referees to enforce the Chinese Super League for several years, and local referees have become the protagonists of today's domestic league. However, there are big problems with their ability to enforce the law, their familiarity with the business and their ability to control the situation on the field.
In many matches, it is not uncommon in the league that those who are awarded a foul will not be awarded a foul, those who are awarded a yellow card will not be hit, and those who are awarded a red card will only be awarded a yellow card. One of the most typical examples is in the 20th round of the Chinese Super League, Shanghai Harbour's home match against Tianjin Jinmen Tigers. Harbour International defender Zhang Lin and a flying tackle on Jinmen Tigers' tomorrow not only spoiled the opponent's threatening attack, but also broke tomorrow's ankle, resulting in the loss of his season.
In such a bad foul, Zhang Linmiao only received a yellow card and no additional punishment from the FA after the match. After the match, many fans and media questioned the size of such a penalty. But the referee's punishment was made and will not be changed. Although Zhang Linmiao got away with it, it was a disservice to our league.
The referee's penalty scale is different, some players' big fouls are often netted, which makes the players of the Chinese Super League team subconsciously develop the habit of defending against big actions that don't matter, and the referee won't give a red card no matter what.
In international matches, Chinese players often suffer because of this awareness. Xie Pengfei's red card in the group stage of the AFC Champions League exemplifies this. From this perspective, not only did the Hong Kong team fail to enter the AFC Champions League, they also screwed Xie Pengfei of Sanzhen. Therefore, the Hong Kong team should pay for the loss in the AFC Champions League.
Although Wuhan Sanzhen started the AFC Champions League with only one draw and one loss, finishing second from the bottom in the group, they still have a chance to get out of the group. Here, we also hope that Sanzhen's players can remember longer and not lose points in the AFC Champions League due to unnecessary fouls. At the same time, we also hope that the Football Association will solve the problem of refereeing in the Chinese Super League as soon as possible, otherwise our team will definitely suffer a huge loss in the international arena in the future...
