South Korea’s FA accused of providing referees with sex massages in astonishing claim

SOUTH KOREA’S FA have sensationally been accused of providing referees with sex massages before games. The shock claims are alleged to have occurred between 2011 and 2012, according to South Korean TV station JTBC and news agency Yonhap. The South Korean FA are facing allegations that it provided referees with sex massages before games Credit: AFP The claims are said to have occurred between 2011 and 2012 Credit: AFP The KFA are said to have paid for foreign referees to attend massage parlours in Seoul and other South Korean cities hosting international fixtures. The matches reportedly included 2014 World Cup and 2012 London Olympic qualifying. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! The revelations were based on credit card statements and documents from a government audit report from 2016. It claimed 20 match officials – who were from Japan, the UAE, Iran, Bahrain and Uzbekistan – were provided with sexual entertainment across seven matches. South Korea went on an unbeaten run during this period, winning five and drawing twice. In one period, the team beat Oman 2-0 in an Olympic qualifier on September 21, 2011, before a 2-0 victory over Kuwait in a 2014 World Cup qualifier. Another Olympic qualifier against Qatar ended in a goalless draw the following month – but the team had already qualified by this point. South Korea were strong favourites for all three games. Most read in Sport It comes after South Korea offices were raided by police investigating the appointment of manager Hong Myong-bo Credit: AFP Hong resigned after South Korea’s disastrous World Cup that saw them exit in the group stage Credit: Reuters The report from JTBC claimed some referees expected the favours from the KFA and it was “common practice at the time” to cater to them. According to the Korea Times, the KFA could escape Fifa sanctions as breaches of its ethics code cannot be prosecuted after five years – and ten years for bribery and corruption cases. SunSport has reached out to the KFA for comment. It comes during a time of crisis for the KFA after a disastrous World Cup saw South Korea players boycott the media after a video slur towards captain Son Heung-min. The team were later dumped out in the group stage before coach Hong Myung-bo resigned from his role. Police then raided KFA offices this week over the initial appointment of Hong in 2024. Local media said officers were looking into whether KFA chiefs violated internal rules with the hiring of Hong due to “obstruction of business”. The team’s performance at the World Cup under Hong was so poorly received the coach has been banned from some shops in South Korea. Hong announced his resignation one day after South Korea’s elimination. He said: “Over the past two years I asked myself the same question whenever I had to make important decisions, select players or prepare for training session and matches: ‘Is this the right choice for Korean football?’ “I can not say every decision has been the right one, but I can tell you that I have made every decision with Korean football in mind.” Comment now