CANBERRA: Oman coach Paul Le Guen launched a furious tirade at the referee for not giving a "100 percent" penalty in South Korea's 1-0 Asian Cup win over his side on Saturday.
The Koreans got off to a winning start in their quest for a first Asian Cup trophy in 55 years thanks to a solitary goal from forward Cho Young-Cheol in first-half injury time.
South Korea dominated possession at Canberra Stadium and had several chances to kill the game, but were lucky to take all three points after Oman almost snatched a draw late on.
Frenchman Le Guen insisted the outcome could have been different if New Zealand official Peter O'Leary had awarded a spot kick when striker Qasim Saeed looked to have been scythed down in the box.
"I don't want to have an advantage -- no, no. I ask for equity," he fumed. "It's a 100 percent penalty, no hesitation. But (we didn't get it) because of what? Because we are Oman? It's a very, very bad decision at this level.
"Sometimes you can have a debate, but in this case there is no debate, no discussion. It's a penalty, 100 percent," the former Lyon boss added. "The game could have been different after. If you are 1-0 up it's definitely different."
South Korea were quickest out of the traps and Bayer Leverkusen star Son Heung-Min came closest to opening the scoring after seven minutes when he dinked the ball over Oman goalkeeper Al Habsi, only for it to come back off the crossbar.
Al Habsi pushed away a stinging free-kick five minutes before halftime and it looked as if Oman were going to go into the break level before Cho popped up with his goal.
The Qatar-based marksman broke the deadlock when he reacted quickest to bury a rebound after a parry from Al Habsi, a poacher's goal that delighted a crowd overwhelmingly cheering for the Taeguk Warriors.
Oman were largely on the back foot and their best attempt in the first-half came when Eid Al Farsi curled a free-kick wide.
Le Guen was livid at not being awarded the penalty but when told about his angry rant, South Korea coach Uli Stielike appeared mystified.
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