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September 16 – South Korea’s Suwon FC are reported to have terminated international midfielder Son Jun-ho’s contract by mutual agreement after he was handed a lifetime ban by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) for his alleged involvement in match-fixing and bribery.
Son has denied the accusations made by Chinese authorities who announced last week that he was among 38 players banned.
The 32-year-old, who had been playing at the time in the Chinese Super League with Shandong Taishan FC, insists he had to make a false confession under duress in order to be freed from nearly 10 months of detention. But he apparently agreed to have his current contract ended.
“With the idea that we can no longer leave our fans who have been supporting the players and the team all year in confusion, the club has accepted a request by Son to terminate his contract that he made out of consideration for his teammates and fans,” Suwon FC said in a statement.
Son had hoped to continue his career with Suwon after he returned from China in March. But his prospects became uncertain after South Korean media reported that the CFA had referred his case to FIFA.
Last week he broke down in tears as he denied match-fixing and accused China of blackmail.
Son, who appeared in three of South Korea’s four matches at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, said his arrest had been an “overwhelming shock”.
He said he had been threatened by Chinese police with his family, including his children, used as bargaining chips to force him to confess to the charges.
“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 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”.
“I said I…
Source link : https://www.insideworldfootball.com/2024/09/16/south-koreas-son-jun-ho-says-coerced-match-fixing-confession-chinese-police/
Author : Paul Nicholson
Publish date : 2024-09-16 10:03:39
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