"The decisions made by the referee (from Malaysia) debased the quality of the game, " Shandong Luneng's coach Ljubisa Tumbakovic complained after the game, "It's too early to talk about the league champion, what we should do is to learn more from the recent games."

Having lost to Wuhan Guanggu 2-3 last round, last year's double-champion winner Shandong Luneng of China was held to a 1-1 tie against Changchun Yatai in the 7th round of China Super League (CSL) last Saturday on their home soil Jinan, slipping to the 6th place of the table.

Changchun's Wang Dong scored the opening in the 42th minute with a spectacular free kick curving the wall and flowing into the top left corner as Shandong's national goalie Li Leilei failed to deny it. Shandong's Han Peng headed home a perfect cross from Serbian Aleksandar Zivkovic for the equalizer in the 80th minute.

"Shandong and Changchun are two of the most aggressive teams in the CSL, should have made a fantastic game, which however was damaged by the referee, " Tumbakovic said, "I knew the football association introducing the Malaysian referee wanted a just and fair game, but the original intention should not undermine the level of the game, otherwise it's no use."

Shandong Luneng's Aleksandar Zivkovic (R) fights for the ball during their CSL game agaist Changchun Yatai in Jinan, east China's Shandong province last saturday.[Xinhua]

"My guys controlled the ball most of the time, we kept constant pressure on Changchun, but they worked hard on their defence and seeked any possiblilities to counterback, we lost much physical strength during the seesaw game as well as squanderred many chances," Tumbakovic added.

"My boys seemed irritable sometimes, which i believe was brought on by the referee's improper judgment." Tumbakovic said.

"The referee did a very good job in the game, he is an example of our country's referees." Lu Jun, China's former well-known soccer referee and "golden whistle" winner, told sina.com.

Luneng have scored 16 goals leading all CSL teams in seven games, but lost 10 being the second to last Liaoning.

This Wednesday Shandong Luneng are going to play away against Vietnam's Dong Tam Long An in the group stage of their AFC Champions League game. Shandong have made three straight wins with nine points to lead Group G, while their two biggest rivals Adelaide United and Seongnam Chunma followed at the same four points.

In another big game, Wang Peng scored twice as Dalian Shide came from behind to beat Shanghai Shenhua 2-1. Up to now, five teams shared the top place of the CSL on 13 points, they are Beijing Guo'an, Tianjin Kangshifu, Changchun Yatai, Shanghai Shenhua and Dalian Shide.