Political tensions will come to the forefront as Taiwan faces China in a tense quarter-final of the Women’s Asian Cup.
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Published March 12, 2026
Taiwan and China will meet in the quarterfinals of the Women’s Asian Cup on Saturday, but geopolitical tensions have reached the terraces, with complaints from Taiwanese fans over their right to cheer for their team.
Former Taiwanese men’s coach Chen Gui-ren was sent off by Asian Football Confederation (AFC) security staff at Western Sydney Stadium on Tuesday after leading the cheer for the women’s team’s 3-1 win over India.
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Taiwanese fans claimed that Chen was sent off at an international sporting event for chanting “Taiwan” instead of “Chinese Taipei,” which is the name of the Taiwanese team.
Taiwan has long competed as “Chinese Taipei” to appease China, which claims the democratically ruled island as its own. The Taiwanese government rejects China’s sovereignty claims.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Affairs Office in Sydney lodged a protest with the AFC following Cheng’s exit.
Fans also claimed that flags and pro-Taiwan banners were confiscated at the stadium.
AFC, which organizes the quadrennial Asian Cup, is investigating Chen’s incident but declined to comment.
Taiwan, ranked 40th in the world, will be at a disadvantage when they face defending champions China at Perth Rectangular Stadium.
All semi-finalists will qualify directly for next year’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil. The four teams defeated in the quarter-finals will compete for two more spots in the play-offs on the Gold Coast next week.
China’s previous opponents, North Korea, will be in the spotlight when they face Australia in the first quarter-final in Perth on Friday.
In Monday’s 2-1 loss in Sydney, North Korea refused to play out the first half after China’s Wang Shuang scored in extra time.
The goal was initially disallowed for offside, but the decision was overturned by VAR, infuriating North Korea.
Their coach, Lee Seong-ho, was given a yellow card by his team for protesting on the sideline.
“If such a situation occurs again in tomorrow’s match, we will abide by and respect the decision of the referee and match officials,” Li said Thursday through an interpreter.
Japan, the favorites and two-time champions, scored an unrestrained 17 goals in group games against Taiwan, India and Vietnam, heading into the quarterfinals against world No. 41 Philippines.
Meanwhile, the Philippines lost their first two matches but defeated Iran 2-0 to advance to the last eight as one of the top two teams in third place.
“We know these girls have achieved a lot and they deserve this opportunity to play in the World Cup again,” said Mark Torcaso, the Australian coach of the Philippines team.
Undefeated South Korea should prove too strong for world No. 49 Uzbekistan in the other quarter-final at Sydney’s Stadium Australia on Saturday.
After scoring six goals against China and North Korea, Uzbekistan advanced to the finals tournament for the first time with a 4-0 win over Bangladesh.
