Chinese football association says probe found no evidence of improper KFA hospitality
The Chinese Football Association said its probe found no evidence that the KFA provided improper hospitality to Chinese staff in 2012.
Police search the Korea Football Association's office in Cheonan, South Chungcheong, on Aug. 6 as part of an investigation into the appointment of former national team manager Hong Myung-bo.
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The Chinese Football Association (CFA) said Sunday that it found no evidence the Korea Football Association (KFA) provided improper hospitality to three Chinese staff members who visited Korea for a referee exchange in January 2012.
The Chinese association is the second foreign football body to say it could not substantiate allegations involving its personnel, after its Japanese counterpart reached a similar conclusion Thursday. The allegations center on claims that the Korean association arranged sexual services for foreign referees and match commissioners assigned to matches in Korea in 2011 and 2012.
"There is no evidence that the KFA provided 'improper hospitality' to people connected with the CFA," the Chinese association said on its official Weibo account Sunday. "The CFA will continue to follow developments and will open another investigation if new factual leads emerge."
The Chinese association said it formed an investigation team after Korean media reported that three of its staff members had received improper hospitality during the January 2012 visit. It did not say whom the team questioned, how the inquiry was carried out or what records it examined.
The Japan Football Association (JFA) said Thursday that its own review also could not substantiate the allegations. Outside lawyers interviewed six of seven Japanese referees identified in Korean reports, while the seventh responded in writing.
"We were unable to confirm the reported facts, either an attempt by the KFA to influence match results or improper hospitality involving sexual services," JFA General Secretary Kazuyuki Yukawa said at a briefing in Tokyo after a board meeting.
Local broadcaster JTBC first reported the allegations on Aug. 6 after obtaining a previously unreleased 2016 Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism report. The report said the association used corporate cards to cover the cost of sexual services for about 10 foreign referees and match commissioners assigned to seven matches in Korea between March 2011 and March 2012, including qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup and the 2012 London Olympics.
The Korean association apologized on Aug. 8 for concerns caused by the reports and said it no longer engages in such conduct or uses corporate cards for such expenses.
BY LEE HAY-JUNE [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
