Tearful South Korea star denies ‘ridiculous’ China match-fixing claims

SUWON, South Korea: South Korean World Cup player Son Jun-ho broke down in tears Wednesday as he denied match-fixing and accused China of blackmail after they banned him for life.

Son, who played for Shandong Taishan in the Chinese Super League, was accused by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) of participating in match-fixing and bribery, and was detained in May 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. But he was one of 43 people banned for life this week by Chinese authorities over alleged gambling and match-fixing in the domestic game. A weeping and visibly emotional Son told reporters that his arrest had been an “overwhelming shock”.

He said he was threatened by Chinese police and his family, including his children, were used as bargaining chips to force him to confess. “The Chinese police presented ridiculous charges,” he said. “They threatened that if I didn’t admit to the charges, my wife would be arrested through the foreign ministry and brought to the same detention centre to be investigated with me,” he said. He said he was not given adequate Korean translations or access to a lawyer, and when he realised Chinese police were accusing him of bribery, he was “dumbfounded”.