(Asian Cup) Klinsmann blames officiating for key Malaysian goals in draw

In the aftermath of South Korea's embarrassing 3-3 draw against the lowly Malaysia at the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup on Thursday, head coach Jurgen Klinsmann pointed fingers at referee Khalid Saleh Al Turais. Klinsmann said decisions by the Saudi Arabian official led to two goals by Malaysia, one via a penalty, in their Group E contest. On Malaysia's 51st-minute equalizer, South Korean midfielder Hwang In-beom was stripped of the ball by Darren Lok, who got the ball to Faisal Halim for the goal. Klinsmann contended that Hwang was fouled on the play and South Korea should have retained possession. Malaysia took the lead on a penalty by Arif Aiman in the 62nd minute, after defender Seol Young-woo was called for a foul on Aiman after making contact with his foot in the box. A video review confirmed the infraction, but Klinsmann disagreed. "The penalty was no penalty. Their second goal was a foul on In-beom," Klinsmann said. "So two referee decisions gave them two goals." Klinsmann did note that his players were not entirely blameless. "We should have done better. We should have won the game," said Klinsmann, whose team conceded a last-gasp equalizer to Romel Morales. "We should have played more disciplined, especially in transition backward, to avoid the third goal." South Korea finished second in Group E with five points, one back of Bahrain. South Korea beat Bahrain 3-1 on Jan. 15 and then had a 2-2 draw against Jordan five days later. South Korea will now face the Group F winner, either Saudi Arabia or Thailand, in the round of 16 on Tuesday. Ever the optimist, Klinsmann still saw some silver lining from Thursday's draw. Two key players who had been sidelined with injuries, winger Hwang Hee-chan and left back Kim Jin-su, both made their tournament debuts Thursday. "We got Jin-su and Hee-chan on the field, and we look a lot stronger now," the coach said. "We have a couple of days now to rest and prepare for the next game. The tournament really starts. The knockout phase is when the tournament really starts. We got through the group. We're unbeaten. But we can do better than today." For the 130th-ranked Malaysia, coached by South Korean native Kim Pan-gon, coming this close to beating No. 23 South Korea was a big deal for the future. "We couldn't have imagined such a great result," Kim said. "Taking on such a giant was a big source of motivation for our players, as we get ready for the World Cup qualification." With Malaysia already out of knockout contention before Thursday, Kim said it was at first difficult to light the fire in his team. "We didn't have any hope coming into this match, but I told the players to try to put up a good fight against a team with world-class players," Kim said. "I still think South Korea are a strong team. I expect them to win the Asian Cup." Source: Yonhap News Agency