South Korea’s attempts to find out more about the circumstances surrounding the forced police investigation of South Korean national soccer team midfielder Son Jun-ho (31, Shandong Taishan) have been unsuccessful.
Japanese daily Tokyo Sports quoted a soccer official as saying, “China did not accept South Korea’s request at all. It’s no different from turning down the door,” the Japanese newspaper reported, citing a soccer official.
Last month, China’s foreign ministry said, “Son Jun-ho is being detained by public security in Liaoning province as part of a bribery investigation.” On June 1, the KFA’s chief executive officer and a lawyer returned home with no results.
According to Tokyo Sports, the agency directly handling Son’s case has blocked South Korea from gathering information. This is believed to be the response of public security, not the Chinese Football Association.
South Korea, ranked 27th in the world, will play home friendlies against Peru (21st) on Sept. 16 and El Salvador (73rd) on Sept. 20. Head coach Jürgen Klinsmann (59-Germany) named a 23-man roster that includes Son Jun-ho.
Selection to the A-Match squad, which takes place during the FIFA International Match Calendar, is mandatory and cannot 메이저사이트 be refused by the player’s club. There is also a possibility that the KFA will try to find out about Son’s situation through the contact process, such as sending a letter to Shandong to cooperate with the transfer.
“The KFA has attempted to obtain information to better understand the content and nature of the case in time for the national team to be called up, but China has remained steadfast in its stance,” according to Tokyo Sports.
According to Taiwanese newspaper Zhongguo Shibao, Shandong removed a poster that had been put up to promote Son to visitors to the home stadium. They also removed a photo of the inside of the locker room to show teammates that the locker belonged to Son Jun-ho.
It was also reported that a club official reacted by saying that he had “dishonored the team.” “Shandong fans should expect the reality that Son Junho has been dropped from the squad and has no chance of returning before the official announcement,” Zhongguosbao said.
CNN explained that Son is the first foreign soccer player to be investigated since China’s National Inspection Commission was established. This means that the issue has gone beyond the local level to the central government.
The National Inspection Commission was created as a constitutional body in 2018, absorbing the State Council’s National Commission for the Prevention of Corruption and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate’s General Department of Corruption and Bribery. Even the CPC’s Discipline Inspection Commission has been cracking down on corruption in soccer, and the investigation into Son Junho is part of this trend.
The defensive/central midfielder starred for Shandong in the 2021 Chinese Super League (1st Division) with four goals, four assists, and 0.40 attacking points per 90 minutes in 21 games. If the year-end awards hadn’t been canceled due to COVID-19, he would have been the favorite for MVP.
Shandong re-signed Son through the 2025 season as soon as he entered 2022. They also included an option for a one-year extension. The club acted quickly to secure his services after Southampton, Fulham, and other English professional soccer teams were interested in signing him.
Son also shined in the Korean professional soccer, winning the K League 1 Assist King (2017) and MVP (2020). He was also one of two Chinese Super League players to make the final 32-nation roster for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.