[SPOTVNEWS = Shinmunro, Reporter Lee Seong-pil] The plan to pardon 100 footballers who were punished for misconduct such as match fixing in the past was blocked by huge negative public opinion. It was concluded with an apology, but it is also true that there are still unresolved questions.
Chung Mong-gyu, chairman of the Korea Football Association, presided over a temporary board meeting at the Seoul Sinmunro Soccer Center on the 31st. 27 out of 29 people, including the vice-president of the Football Association and the board of directors, were present and re-examined the amnesty resolution discussed at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 28th.
The conclusion was a complete withdrawal. Chairman Chung bowed his head, saying he did not take into account the heightened standards of football fans and moral standards. Chairman Chung said, “From two years ago, I kept receiving suggestions from front-line footballers, saying, ‘For more than 10 years, they have sufficiently reflected on themselves and paid the price for their sins to some extent, so how about showing tolerance now?” confessed that it was not.
"As a result, the judgment was not thoughtful. I could not fully understand the tremendous shock and emotional scars that footballers and fans suffered due to the match-fixing incident. Along with stricter moral standards, the fans who want a fair ground I couldn't even take into account the heightened eye level."
However, Chairman Chung left the soccer hall after only announcing a one-sided statement. It did not address the question of who was offered the pardon and how it was raised to the board of directors. This is why it is not strange to be embroiled in controversy.
In the soccer world, the need for relief for these 48 players who were punished for being caught up in match fixing in 2011 has been steadily coming out. However, this time, 52 people who were also subject to disciplinary action for committing various misconduct entered their amnesty and mixed as if they were watered.
A football official familiar with the situation of the Football Association said on the premise of anonymity, "I know that some footballers with paternalism have been continuously suggesting disciplinary amnesty for match-fixing criminals to President Chung and the head of the Football Association. It is said that there was. However, I know that Executive Director Hong blocked the proposal to Chairman Chung.”
Other personnel also said, "There were greetings asking for disciplinary action to be reduced because the juniors were pitiful, but I know that there were also suggestions from personnel with other purposes at the forefront. Except for the match manipulator, the rest of the personnel are working without problems in the soccer world. People who know them well I wonder if he continued to shake the current leadership.”
There are several footballers mentioned in the process of proposing the amnesty. I tried to talk to former player A on the phone, but he hung up, saying, "It's a misunderstanding. I didn't suggest it. I don't have anything to say." Another person, Mr. B, did not answer the phone at all.
With this incident that has made the soccer world noisy, the Football Association, the executive department, and famous soccer players who are silent have the task of regaining the trust of the fans. It is the Korean soccer administration that has wasted time without a clear solution.