This is because Hwang Sun-hong (55), head coach of the Asian Games national team, and the Korea Football Association’s complacent and immature “player selection.”
Coach Hwang Sun-hong announced the final 22 entries for the “2023 Hangzhou Asian Games” at the soccer hall in Sinmun-ro, Seoul on the 14th. Lee Sang-min (Seongnam FC), who caused controversy over drunk driving two years ago, was named, sparking controversy.
Lee Sang-min was caught by the police while drinking and driving in May 2020, when he was a member of K League 2 Chungnam Asan. Since then, he has played three more games while hiding his drunk driving and reported it to the club about a month later, drawing further criticism. At that time, the Korea Professional Football Federation suspended Lee Sang-min from 15 games and fined him 4 million won. After disciplinary action, Lee Sang-min moved to Seongnam FC this year through Asan, Chungcheongnam-do, and played 14 league games.
In response to criticism that a player with a history of drunk driving was selected for the national team, the Korea Football Association said in a statement on the 18th that it has decided to exclude Lee Sang-min from the final entry. It has been four days since the final entry was announced. Moreover, in the process of selecting Lee Sang-min, the “lack of information” caused public outrage among fans. The Korea Football Association said, “Lee Sang-min was disciplined by the Professional Football Federation for drunk driving in the past and was later selected for the national team by age.” “Compared to K League 1 or A national team players, neither league news nor player-related information is relatively well known to the outside world, so we did not properly review related regulations when we first selected the national team in 2021,” he explained.
Moreover, according to Article 17 of the Korea Football Association’s “Regulations on the Operation of the National Football Team,” “acts related to drunk driving will be fined more than 5 million won.” It was stated that ‘a person who has not been sentenced for three years cannot become a member of the national team.’ It is reprehensible that he chose a player without knowing this.
Coach Hwang Sun-hong, who has full power to select players and is in charge of the most, also bowed his head. Coach Hwang Sun-hong said in a statement, “I deeply apologize for the carelessness of the coach and coaching staff in the process of selecting players,” adding, “I will pay close attention in the future.”
Among the 22 finalists, Lee Sang-min was excluded, making it 21. There are more problems. Lee Kang-in, who was named in the final entry for now, is also not confirmed to be transferred as he remains coordinated with his team Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). In the worst case, the national team has to play in the Asian Games with 20 players, with two out of 22 entries without Lee Kang-in and Lee Sang-min. The deadline for submitting entries for the Asian Games was until the 15th, and changes in entries are only possible when medical problems such as injuries occur. Hwang Sun-hong’s team has faced an unprecedented crisis in the national team’s history at a time when the players are exhausted due to the tight schedule of the tournament and the hot weather in Hangzhou.
According to Hwang Sun-hong’s remarks at the final entry press conference, Lee Kang-in’s former team Mallorca was expected to be transferred to the Asian Games, but he failed to seek consent from PSG, who recently confirmed the transfer. 스포츠토토
Head coach Hwang Sun-hong responded positively, saying, “I think it will be well coordinated,” but he is not sure whether PSG will give up Lee Kang-in. This is because the Asian Games and the Olympics are not organized by FIFA, so the news team is not obligated to transfer. If Lee Kang-in plays in the Asian Games, PSG will have to play the league without Lee Kang-in for about a month from September 4, the expected call-up date for the national team, to early October, when the tournament closes. As Lee Kang-in was recruited with a huge investment of 20 million euros (about 28.4 billion won), it is burdensome to unconditionally respond to the transfer. However, even before the start of the tournament, coach Hwang Sun-hong and the Korea Football Association poured cold water on the national team atmosphere with careless handling.