North Korean soccer coach Ri Gwang-cheon expresses strong dissatisfaction with referee decision after defeat against Japan

Coach Lee Kwang-cheon of the North Korean men's national soccer team, who lost to Japan and ended their gold medal journey at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in the quarterfinals, acknowledged defeat but expressed strong dissatisfaction with the referee's decision.

Coach Lee Gwang-jeon said at a press conference after losing 0-1 to Japan in the men's soccer quarterfinals of the Asian Games on the 26th, "I think it's a scene where I don't really understand whether the goals we conceded are in line with the spirit of fair play."

On this day, the North Korean players claimed that the winning goal scored by Nigerian-Japanese player Nwadike Uche in the 39th minute of the first half was invalid, causing an uproar as all of them left the ground.

It was claimed that the score was invalid because Uche committed a foul by pushing the defender during the scoring process, but this was not accepted.

Coach Lee criticized the decision, saying, "In the end, we lost," but added, "If we continue this way, I don't think there will be fair play. I think there's a problem with the referee."

When asked about the North Korean team's performance in this tournament, Coach Lee responded, "As a coach, I am happy to see the players improving as they play," and added, "I thought we could achieve better results if we prepared with confidence."

Regarding the support for North Korea led by the General Association of Koreans in Japan, he said, "I am sorry for not being able to give the joy of victory to my compatriots who cheered hard on a bad day," and expressed gratitude, "I ran and ran throughout the entire period of this competition with untiring enthusiasm and enthusiastic cheers."

Even on this rainy day, about 200 members of the cheering squad gathered to cheer on North Korea by shouting slogans and singing cheering songs.