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SCMP Reporter

Japan stole the Asian Cup, Xinhua says, while raising questions about the performance of Kuwaiti referee

Mainland media responded to China's 3-1 loss to Japan in Saturday night's Asian Cup final by heaping criticism on the game's referee and disputing a 'handball' goal by Japanese midfielder Koji Nakata.

However, there was almost no mention of the post-match confrontations between riot police and angry Chinese fans that saw traffic blocked outside the Workers' Stadium in Beijing and Japanese flags set ablaze.

Xinhua said Japan stole the Asian Cup with the 'hand of God', while the performance  of Kuwaiti referee Saad Kameel   also contributed to the  Chinese team's defeat.

'China has not been defeated by the Japanese team, but by this referee,' the state  news service said.

China was playing in its first Asian Cup final in 20 years.

The Japanese team left Beijing early yesterday, cutting short its stay by one day.

Nakata's controversial goal in the second half was allowed despite action replays indicating he could have handled the ball.

The Beijing Star Daily carried a picture of a weeping woman holding a Chinese flag with the headline: 'The Japanese team's handball strangles all hope of a victory for China'.

However, cooler sentiments prevailed in other media outlets and on the internet.

One contributor to Sina.com's chat room said there had not been many improvements in the Chinese team and they still had much to learn.

A China Youth Daily editorial said football was a sport and there had to be a winning side and a losing side.

It said the result of a match was determined by the strength of the teams and urged the Chinese squad to brush up on its skills.

A Japanese journalist covering the match  said he was uncomfortable about his country's team playing in China, given the negative sentiment towards Japan.

'Chinese fans said some insulting words against Japanese people,' the journalist said.

'After the game they created a riot, by massing around the stadium and at the Japanese players' hotel.

'They destroyed shuttle buses and cars belonging to our embassies. This is very rare in other international games.'

But he said Beijing fans were relatively friendly and restrained compared with their peers in Chongqing .

'In Chongqing, local fans abused the Japanese team at every match, no matter which country Japan was playing,' he said. 'Nobody stood when the Japanese anthem was sung, but two-thirds of the fans in Beijing stood last night.'

The journalist nonetheless expressed concern about the way some Chinese citizens mixed sports with politics.

'The 2008 Olympics will be held here and definitely many Japanese, including athletes, will come here,' he said. 'Given the same conditions, I'm afraid many Japanese,  especially the youth, will not accept the situation.'

Meanwhile, Asian Football Confederation general secretary Peter Velappan  said  Chinese fans must abandon the mentality that their team must always win because of the size of their country and its status as an emerging superpower.

'They don't understand a successful national team is the result of a good professional league and a sound youth development programme. China hasn't progressed, as it should. It takes time and the fans must learn to be patient,' he said.



China's despair over 'hand of God'