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Shin didn’t make a statement about the referee after the match but on Saturday, but talked to the Indonesian press at Soekarno Hatta Airport after returning from France.
"The players worked very hard and tried their best," Shin said. "But I cannot accept the unfair decisions from the referee."
On the flight back to Indonesia, Shin watched the match highlights and felt upset with the referee's mistakes. The South Korean coach believes that Indonesian fans shared the same feeling of disappointment as him.
French referee Francois Letexier is said to have made two mistakes when he gave two penalties to Guinea in the game. In the first one, Shin believes that Witan Sulaeman committed a foul outside the penalty area. In the second penalty, Alfeandra Dewangga touched the ball before tackling the Guinea player. The African team only converted one penalty, scored by Ilaix Moriba.
"People may think blaming the referee is just an excuse for failure, but I couldn’t help it. I have been in the football world for nearly 45 years and there were many wrong calls from the referee like the match against Guinea, before that with Qatar, Uzbekistan, and Iraq in the 2024 U23 Asian Cup," Shin added.
Before Shin’s statement, many Indonesian fans flooded the Guinean Football Federation's Instagram page with criticism and even racist comments. The situation went too far, forcing the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) to send a letter of apology to Guinea and condemn any racist behavior.
Despite failing to qualify for the 2024 Olympics, Indonesia finished fourth for the first time at the U23 Asian Cup. Shin said that the future of Indonesian football is very bright and can definitely reach new heights in the coming time.
The 53-year-old coach is negotiating a new contract with PSSI, expected to last until June 2027. This is a reward for Shin as he helped Indonesia complete major goals in 2024 U23 Asian Cup, pass the group stage of the 2023 Asian Cup and move closer to entering the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup.
