It looks like the synonym for violent soccer is about to change. Now, Uzbekistan’s recklessly violent soccer has become a frowned upon sport for soccer fans.
The South Korean Asian Games football team, led by Hwang Sun-hong, defeated Uzbekistan 2-1 on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET at the Huanglong Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou, China, in the quarterfinals of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games. With the win, South Korea is headed to the gold medal match. Next up, they’ll face ‘nemesis’ Japan.
On the day, Uzbekistan tormented South Korea with a gritty brand of soccer that rivaled the Shaolin football of China in its heyday. In fact, Uzbekistan is a powerhouse at the age-group level, but they are known for their rough style. In fact, SBS commentator Jang Ji-hyun made an educated guess before the game, saying, “Considering Uzbekistan’s rough style of play, there could definitely be ejections.” He was right.
This commentary was spot on. From the beginning of the game, there was a rough fight. Uzbekistan came at Lee Kang-in, Cho Young-wook, and other key offensive players with a lot of roughness, and in the first half, Lee intentionally knocked Cho Young-wook out of the air during an aerial ball fight, causing him to fall heavily to the ground.
The rough play continued in the second half. Lee shoved an elbow into Kang-in Lee’s face and used his hands without hesitation. Eventually, an incident occurred. In the 17th minute of the second half, when Uhm Won-sang won the ball on the right flank, No. 14 Yordashev, who was racing to catch up to Uhm Won-sang, attempted a tackle on Uhm Won-sang’s ankle from behind.
The tackle was on target and Uhm went down with his ankle. It was a malicious tackle that didn’t even touch the ball. When the referee blew the whistle after Yordashev’s malicious foul, Yordashev lost his temper and slammed the ball into the ground.
As a result, Yordashev received a yellow card. Coach Hwang Sun-hong eventually called Uhm Won-sang to the bench. After the game, Hwang sighed, “It’s possible that she’s injured.” It’s safe to say that it was an unfortunate injury caused by Uzbekistan’s violent soccer.
The referee didn’t show a card for this level of foul. Uzbekistan continued to make vicious tackles on Korean players. Eventually, Uzbekistan was punished. In the 27th minute of the second half, Abdurauf Buriev was sent off for accumulating cautions for a hard tackle on Cho Young-wook’s ankle.
The Uzbek’s behavior, including the ejection, was beyond the bounds of what is acceptable in the game. Whether it was the reckless and questionable backtackle on Uhm Won-sang or the elbow to Lee Kang-in, the Uzbek players looked like they were practicing mixed martial arts, not soccer.
Their manners were also terrible. They lunged for the ball when it was already too late, colliding with Korean players and diving. When Buriev was sent off, he protested harshly at the red card and even spat at the referee. It was literally a total mess.
Uzbekistan’s rough play was not limited to this game. Alibayev was also sent off for a flagrant foul against Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals of the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. He was criticized for his rough play back then, but it has only gotten worse, not better.
There was no remorse in this situation. Uzbek coach Kapadze, who has also played in the K League, said in a post-match interview, “There were a lot of yellow cards. I don’t understand it. I want the game to be more fair. I don’t think we should fight with the referee,” he said.
Kapadze’s comments should be a wake-up call for Uzbekistan, as they have a lot of battles ahead of them, including on the road to the Paris Olympics. We were concerned about the rough style of play in the quarterfinals against China, but it turned out to be a more relaxed affair.
Away from the Asian Games, in the 2015 King’s Cup in Thailand, Uzbekistan’s Shamsiddinov served a one-year ban for punching Sim Sang-min in the face during a ball contest in the 42nd minute. Violent soccer is literally steeped in history and tradition.바카라
The Uzbeks, in particular, are known for their reckless physicality, especially when faced with a superior opponent. This reckless style may become more common in the future, as Uzbekistan has emerged as a powerhouse in Asian age-group soccer, albeit not to the same extent as South Korea.
The time has come for Korean soccer to study how to counter the reckless Uzbek counterattack.