In the Asian Games quarter-finals held in Hangzhou on Sunday, tensions were high between North Korea and Japan as the latter emerged victorious with a 2-1 score.
After the game, North Korea captain Jang Kuk Chol and teammate Kim Kyong Sok were seen arguing with the referee, Rustam Lutfullin.
The Uzbek official had earlier awarded Japan a penalty after North Korean goalkeeper Kang Juh Yok charged out and clipped the feet of Jun Nishikawa with an outstretched arm.
Kang was visibly frustrated and argued with the referee before Yuta Matsumura scored from the spot in the 80th minute.
Jang Kuk Chol and Kim Kyong Sok were agitated with the decision and pursued the referee in the middle of the pitch after the final whistle.
The confrontation drew in the assistant referees and several security staff.
North Korean coach Sin Yong Nam also rushed to the players to try to diffuse the situation.
READ ALSO: https://thecrux.org.ng/bbnaija-all-star-davido-reacts-to-ilebayes-victory/
Despite the heated argument, Sin Yong Nam defended his players at the post-match press conference.
He admitted that the players may have been over-excited during the match, but insisted that confrontations are not uncommon in football matches and that their behaviour was acceptable.
Japan coach Go Oiwa declined to comment on the incident but said that the match was as expected.
Kotaro Uchino scored the first goal for Japan with a helpful deflection off a North Korean player in the 50th minute before Kim Kuk Bom levelled the match with a stunning, long-range strike.
Japan advanced to the semi-finals and will play against Hong Kong, who pulled off a 1-0 upset of former winners Iran.
Meanwhile, defending champions South Korea had a comfortable 2-0 victory over hosts China and will face Uzbekistan after the Central Asians’ 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia earlier in the day.
