SUWON, SOUTH KOREA:
South Korea’s World Cup player Son Jun-ho broke down in tears on Wednesday as he denied match-fixing and accused China of blackmail after he was banned for life.
Son, who played for Shandong Taishan in the Chinese Super League, was charged by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) with match-fixing and detained for 10 months last year.
The midfielder, who appeared in three of South Korea’s four matches at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, returned to South Korea in March after being detained until May 2023.
But he was one of 43 people banned for life this week by Chinese authorities for alleged gambling and match-fixing.
A tearful and visibly emotional son told reporters his arrest had come as an “overwhelming shock”.
He said he had been threatened by Chinese police with his family, including his children, used as a bargaining chip to force him to confess to the charges.
“The Chinese police presented ridiculous charges,” he said.
“They threatened that if I did not admit to the charges, my wife would be arrested through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and taken to the same detention center to be interrogated with me,” he said.
He said he was not given adequate translations into Korean or access to a lawyer, and when he realized Chinese police were accusing him of bribery, he was “stunned”.
“I said I had done no such thing,” the 32-year-old said, repeatedly having to stop talking to wipe away tears.
The son was held “on suspicion of receiving bribes from non-government officials” without details and said his family was being used to extract a confession.
“As they showed me pictures of my daughter and son on my phone, they pressed me, saying, ‘What did the kids do to deserve this?'” Sean told reporters.
“”If your wife comes here too, how will the children fare? Don’t you think your kids want to see their father? So admit it quickly.”
He said he was offered a deal by Chinese police, who told him if he pleaded guilty he would be released quickly.
“Overwhelmed with fear and concern for my family, I had no choice but to plead guilty to charges I didn’t even understand, just to quickly return to my family,” he said.
He said Chinese police should release audio recordings of his interrogation to show “how they coerced a confession out of me.”
“I want to clear my name in complete transparency. The only evidence they had was my false confession, obtained through the intense pressure of the early interrogation tactic.”
Under President Xi Jinping, Beijing has deepened its crackdown on corruption in Chinese sports in recent years, especially soccer, and has jailed many top officials.
Xi is a self-confessed soccer fanatic who has said he dreams of China hosting and winning the World Cup.
But that ambition appears further away than ever after repeated corruption scandals and years of disappointing results on the pitch.
Upon his return, Son joined South Korea’s fifth-tier league before moving to top-flight side Suwon FC in June. Son was not selected for the national team for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers last week because of the “danger” associated with the Chinese allegations, the team’s head coach Hong Myung-bo said when he announced the squad last month.
a href=”https://tribune.com.pk/story/2495395/korea-star-denies-match-fixing-charges”>Source link
