China complain over disallowed 'goal'

China has protested over Yu Dabao's shot late in Tuesday's game, which appeared to cross the line before Hong Kong goalkeeper Yapp Hung-fai clawed it back, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The goalless draw in front of Hong Kong's jubilant fans left China third in their group with two games left and struggling to reach the next round of qualifiers for Russia 2018.

But Xinhua conceded the complaint to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) had little chance of changing the game's result -- a sentiment echoed by Hong Kong Football Association vice chairman Pui Kwan-kay.

"The match is so important to them and they have to do something to express their discontent and pacify the fans and the media," Pui told Hong Kong's South China Morning Post.

"There are already tons of complaints on websites in China about the goal being disallowed... I feel sorry for them and if it happens to the Hong Kong team, we would probably do the same.

"This is understandable but as we all know in the soccer community, it will not change the result."

The Beijing Youth Daily quoted a Chinese Football Association official as saying: "Although the damage caused by the error cannot be compensated, the Chinese team is not yet out and has to make every effort in the last two rounds. 

"So the CFA needs to safeguard the dignity of Chinese football and seek justice for the team. This is also to show respect to Chinese football and all the efforts made by the team so far."

The CFA and the AFC were not immediately available for comment.