KFA “We will investigate, but if government intervention is excessive, we may not be able to go to the World Cup”
Hong Myung-bo, the new head coach of the national soccer team, is interviewed by reporters at Incheon International Airport on the morning of the 15th before leaving the country for work related to the appointment of foreign coaching staff.
As the internal strife and noise inside and outside the Korea Football Association, including the process of appointing the national team coach, grew, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stepped forward to directly investigate. The Korea Football Association, unable to hide its embarrassment, expressed its intention to faithfully cooperate with the investigation. However, it showed signs of discomfort, saying that if the government’s excessive intervention leads to disciplinary action from the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), it could block its path to the World Cup.
A high-ranking official from the Korea Football Association told News 1 on the 17th, “We are embarrassed that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is investigating the process of appointing the national team coach,” and “The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has not yet delivered any specific details. We will cooperate and comply with any investigation that comes up in the future. However, if we continue to receive political pressure, we could face sanctions from FIFA.”
The Korea Football Association is currently causing a lot of noise over the issue of appointing the national team coach.
The Korea Football Association, which fired Jurgen Klinsmann in February, wasted five months and finally appointed Hong Myung-bo as the next head coach of the national team on the 13th after receiving approval from the board of directors. However, it was met with harsh criticism due to the abnormal and opaque process for selecting the coach.
Park Joo-ho, who served as a member of the National Team Strengthening Committee, revealed the behind-the-scenes story of the coach selection process, turning the soccer world upside down, and players who represented Korean soccer, such as Park Ji-sung, also spoke out unusually, making the soccer world noisy every day.
In the end, the government decided to step forward and investigate the inappropriate management of the Korea Football Association and the national team selection process.
On the 16th, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said, “The problems surrounding the Korea Football Association have not been resolved and are becoming more serious. Therefore, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism judged that this matter has reached a point where it cannot be resolved by the Korea Football Association itself,” and announced an investigation, saying, “As an organization that supervises and manages, we cannot just leave it alone.” The Korea Football Association has been designated as a public-private organization since this year, and therefore the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has the authority to audit the organization. For now, the Korea Football Association is taking the position that it will faithfully cooperate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s investigation. An association official said, “(Since it is so noisy) the government must be trying to figure out if there are any problems. We will clarify everything as it is. If there is anything wrong (during the investigation), we will gladly accept the punishment.” However, some voices within the Korea Football Association are opposing the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s interference, saying, “Isn’t this crossing the line?” This official also worried that the government’s intervention could undermine the association’s independent operation and lead to FIFA’s disciplinary action. He worried, “In the worst case scenario, we could not participate in the World Cup (because the association’s qualification is suspended and the right to participate in international competitions is lost).” FIFA, which oversees world football, emphasizes the independence of its national associations. It also included a related clause in its articles of association. Article 14, Paragraph 1 of the FIFA articles of association states, “Member associations must operate independently and have their work guaranteed. It states that “there should be no interference from third parties.” Article 15 emphasizes that “there should be independence from any form of political interference,” and Article 19 again mentions the independence of member associations. FIFA states that violations of this regulation can result in disciplinary actions, including suspension. In fact, FIFA has severely punished associations when problems arise in the independent operation of the association. In 2015, when the Kuwaiti government revised its laws to allow intervention in the administration of its sports organizations, FIFA suspended the Kuwait Football Association. As a result, Kuwait was forced to forfeit its remaining matches in the 2018 Russia World Cup qualifiers, and was only able to return to the international stage two years later after revising the relevant laws. It also revoked the right to host major international competitions. Last year, when the U20 World Cup in Indonesia was embroiled in political and religious conflict over the entry of the Israeli national team, FIFA changed the host country to Argentina. Meanwhile, an official expressed regret over the public outcry over the appointment of the coach. He expressed bitterness, saying, “(There are no major procedural issues) but won’t everything be revealed (innocently) as time goes by?” 카지노사이트
