Beijing: The Asian Cup has suffered another blow to its credibility following a controversial penalty shootout involving Japan and Jordan.

Holders Japan won Saturday’s quarter final 4-3 on spot-kicks amid ugly scenes having persuaded the referee to switch ends after missing their first two penalties.

Furious that the referee agreed to Japanese protests about the condition of the penalty spot, Jordan promptly missed four of their six kicks at the other end. Japan, held 1-1 by Jordan after extra time, advanced to the semi-finals, where they face Bahrain.

Meanwhile, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) faced further embarrassment following a troubled two weeks.

Already plagued by political rows and disciplinary problems, the 2004 Asian Cup threatened to descend into farce in Chongqing.

After Shunsuke Nakamura and Brazilian-born Alex had blazed over, the Japanese bench held up Jordan’s second kick to protest about the condition of the turf around the penalty spot.

The shootout was delayed for at least five minutes as a furious row erupted between players, coaches and match officials. During the confusion, Malaysian referee Subkhiddin Salleh ordered the teams to switch ends, further infuriating the Jordan players.

After Bashar Bani Yaseen fired Jordan’s seventh kick wide, Salleh came under fire from the West Asian side but the AFC has backed the referee. (Reuters)