Soccer-NZ coach defends snub of Chinese counterpart

June 16 (Reuters) - New Zealand coach Tony Readings defended his decision not to shake hands with his Chinese counterpart after their 2-2 draw at the women's World Cup in Canada that ended the Football Ferns' tournament. Readings refused to engage in the customary gesture with Hao Wei after the Chinese had been sent to the stands for apparently interfering with Ria Percival as she attempted to take a quick throw with her side pressing for a winner in Winnipeg. "It's just something I don't agree with," Readings said of Hao's actions. "I would never go out of my way to do that to an opposition player. "You have just got to let the players on the pitch do the business. Whilst we want to influence things we should be back stage, not on stage." Replays of the incident are inconclusive, with Hao appearing to be off balance as he fell into Percival after he had jumped in the air to stop the ball going further out of play. Percival could not gather the ball and immediately complained about what she thought was interference. Hungarian referee Katalin Kulcsar sent the coach to the stands, but he took his time leaving the field of play, no doubt increasing the frustration the New Zealand side felt as China's players slowed the game down in the final few minutes. They twice deliberately stopped New Zealand taking quick free kicks in the final minutes, which resulted in tempers rising on the field. Readings, who has been both criticised and commended in New Zealand, was also frustrated at the penalty decision against Betsy Hassett in the match the Football Ferns needed to win to advance to the knockout phase for the first time. Television replays showed the ball had hit Hassett in the chest and was nowhere near her hands. "Football is such a close game; a referee decision or a ball bouncing the wrong way can make all the difference," Readings said. "But we need to be better so that these things go in our favour." Despite the group stage exit, Readings was confident the campaign would only aid his side ahead of next year's Rio Olympics. "It's the third game in a row where we've said the same thing. The performances we've put in haven't got the results we deserve in this group," he added. "It's been one of the two toughest groups in the tournament (and)...we felt like we were one of the better teams in this group across the three games we played yet we haven't got the results. "This team has massive potential. Despite the fact we've got a few centurions, two of them are 25 years old and we're going to have the core of them at the Olympics and even the next World Cup." (Reporting by Greg Stutchbury in Wellington; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)