Korean newspaper reacts strongly to controversial actions of coach Kim Sang Sik

In the final minutes of the U23 Southeast Asian Championship final against U23 Indonesia, coach Kim Sang Sik controversially bowed to the referee after receiving a yellow card. Korean newspapers expressed their displeasure with this action.

Star News Korea expressed its harsh attitude: “Coach Kim Sang Sik brought Vietnamese football two championship titles (AFF Cup 2024 and U23 Southeast Asia) within just 8 months. However, he faced a wave of criticism for his controversial actions in the final match.

The reason started with Coach Kim Sang Sik bowing to the referee. The Korean strategist said that this was a tactic and psychological impact to energize the players. However, there were many criticisms that this was an inappropriate action.

Coach Kim Sang Sik’s actions could be interpreted as mocking the referee. Many people mentioned the incident where Vietnamese player Le Cong Vinh was disciplined by the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) for bowing to the referee. The incident was so serious that the player considered retiring.

Many critics say that Coach Kim Sang Sik's actions should not be taken lightly. Football requires fighting spirit but the important thing is to ensure the rules and respect.

However, Star News Korea also had positive words when writing about coach Kim Sang Sik in the following part of the article: "In general, most Vietnamese fans still praise coach Kim Sang Sik. In the final match, people saw water bottles scattered on the sidelines to deal with throw-ins from Indonesian players.

Although coach Kim Sang Sik affirmed that he did not have that intention, this story still created excitement among Vietnamese fans. The tactic of waving towels in the technical area also attracted attention. Coach Kim said that this action was to convey a message of solidarity to the players in difficult situations if given instructions by words.

In an interview with Dan Tri newspaper on the morning of July 31, coach Kim Sang Sik explained his act of bowing to the referee: “I reacted to the referee to help the U23 Vietnam players have more time to rest and calm down under great pressure. I also calculated to only receive a yellow card, avoiding the risk of receiving a red card.”

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/bao-han-quoc-phan-ung-manh-voi-hanh-dong-gay-tranh-cai-cua-hlv-kim-sang-sik-20250804105527874.htm