The Lebanese player kicked the Chinese midfielder in the face but was not punished

While competing for the ball, Lebanese defender Khalil Khamis kicked midfielder Dai Wai Tsun in the face, but was not penalized by the referee in round two of Group A of the Asian Cup.

13 minutes into the match between Lebanon and China in round 2 of the 2023 Asian Cup group stage, Khamis accidentally kicked Tsun in the face in an attempt to clear the ball. The two players rushed into the dispute, and the Lebanese defender was quicker. However, he did not have time to retract his left leg, leading to a collision with his opponent.

Lebanese defender Khalil Khamis made a dangerous tackle

The Chinese side asked to be carded, but Korean referee Ko Hyung-jin signaled for the match to continue. After that, VAR stepped in to verify the situation, but also determined that Khamis did not intentionally commit a foul.

Goal newspaper called this decision "crazy". But according to many fans, referee Ko ignored this behavioral error by Khamis because a Chinese player had previously made an offside error.

Tsun's face was bleeding after being kicked

On social networks, many Chinese fans fiercely criticized the Korean referee for not disqualifying player Khalil Khamis.

China was disappointing by drawing two matches with a score of 0-0 against Tajikistan and Lebanon. This result puts the team in the country of billions of people at risk of stopping right from the group stage.

Video of the situation (source: 247-Sports-HQ)