The words on the sign that floated above the irate crowd said it all: South Korean football is dead. Fans had congregated outside Seoul’s Incheon airport to confront the national team as they came home after being knocked out of the World Cup in the group stage.
Coach Hong Myung-bo, a former captain and football legend who is now blamed for his team’s lackluster performance on the biggest athletic platform, was the target of their wrath. And they couldn’t have made that clearer. While some fans clapped for the players walking behind Hong, others beat drums and yelled, “Hong out!” Some even followed him all the way to his car. One football fan told the BBC that ahead of the World Cup, people talked less about the team and “kept saying Hong should step down”.
The Korea Football Association (KFA) was embroiled in a protracted scandal as a result of early opposition to his nomination. The KFA has refuted critics’ long-standing accusations that it lacks openness and impartiality, claiming that coaches and important officials were frequently chosen based more on personal ties than on talent.
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