So Wang Jianhua quickly called a timeout.
Then he raised his right index finger toward the referee and repeatedly drew circles in the air, signaling that he wanted to challenge the call.
The referee immediately made the challenge gesture.
Then he went to review the replay.
The footage showed Zeng Fanbo tripping Clarkson. On that point, there was no doubt that Zeng Fanbo had committed a foul.
However, one second before Zeng Fanbo tripped Clarkson, it was clear that Clarkson's shoulder had struck Zeng Fanbo in the face.
According to the rules, if your knee, shoulder, or elbow hits an opponent in the face,
you'll be called for a foul whether it was intentional or not. In serious cases, it may even be upgraded to a flagrant foul.
So Clarkson had committed the first foul.
The referee finally signaled an offensive foul on Clarkson, while informing the scorer's table that Clarkson's shoulder had hit Cui Yongxi in the face.
Since that foul came first, Clarkson was naturally the one who had fouled.
After China Team won the challenge, the crowd erupted in cheers.
Ninety-nine percent of the spectators were Chinese fans.
For one thing, Wang Yi already had a huge following around the world, and nine out of ten Saudi fans were among his supporters.
On top of that, Wang Yi had endorsed Saudi Arabia Linear City, earning Saudi Arabia a great deal of money and attracting many Saudi fans in the process.
Naturally, most of the Saudi fans who came to watch were there to support Wang Yi.
Even the Saudi team, which wasn't playing that night, had come to cheer on China Team.
Then there were the fans who had followed the event from all over the world. Nine out of ten of them were also Wang Yi's