Antonis says sorry after career-first red card sours Suwon’s K League kick-off

An apologetic Terry Antonis has shouldered his part of the blame for Suwong Bluewings’ season-opening loss to Jeonbuk Motors, with the first sending off of the midfielder’s career proving costly against the defending K1 League champions.

Source: AAP

Antonis was shown a straight red 15 minutes from time as the K League became the world’s first major competition to resume action at a deserted 42,477-capacity Jeonju World Cup Stadium, complete with piped-in crowd noise.

It was a forgettable night for the Korean FA Cup holders' Australian duo. Golden boot striker Adam Taggart was substituted a minute after Antonis’ ill-judged lunge at Jeonbuk’s Jun-ho earned him the ire of the referee.

To make matters worse, 41-year-old Lee Dong-gook rose to head home a corner from the near post four minutes later to seal a 1-0 win for the hosts.

Former Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory playmaker Antonis, who faces two-match automatic ban, told The World Game: “Look, it was the referee’s call.

“I didn’t go in to hurt the player - it was the first red card of my career.

“It’s a tough one to take ... what can you do? That’s football, it’s a physical game and these things happen.

“I was trying to win the ball. It was a bit wet and I misjudged the tackle.

“It (the red card) didn’t help the situation at all, as we were doing well defensively against a great team.”

A contrite Antonis apologised to the coaching staff and his teammates afterwards, and said nobody was pointing the finger at him.

“I told them I was sorry and they understood ... they know these things can happen and in football a lot of things don’t go your way,” he explained.

With no handshakes allowed and players banned from “excessive spitting”, millions of curious, football-starved, on-lookers tuned in from around the world.

Antonis said playing in front of empty seats and benches full of coaches and substitutes wearing face masks was “something different”.

“You miss the atmosphere but at the same time it was good to be back playing again,” he added.

“But from our perspective the night didn’t end well with dropping the points and with what happened with me.

“The boys have another big game next Sunday against (Aussie Jason Davidson’s) Ulsan Hyundai, and it’s still a long season ahead.

“It was a frustrating night but there’s going to be plenty of opportunity to put that behind me.

“I’m really enjoying my time here - I can’t say anything bad about the club or about life away from football. It’s a great experience being up here.”