Son Heung-min cements nice guy image by breaking up fight between Chilean players

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Son Heung-min cements nice guy image by breaking up fight between Chilean players

Published: 08 Jun. 2022, 14:44

Son Heung-min, in red, breaks up a fight between Chile's Paulo Diaz and Benjamin Kuscevic during a game between Korea and Chile at Daejeon World Cup Stadium in Daejeon on Monday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Son Heung-min's reputation as the nicest man in football received a boost on Tuesday after British media picked up on a moment in Monday's 2-0 win over Chile when the Korean captain stopped to break up an argument between two Chilean players.

Son, who scored Korea's second goal in his 100th appearance for the national team at Daejeon World Cup Stadium in Daejeon, was caught on camera breaking up a fight between Chile's Paulo Diaz and Benjamin Kuscevic.

The pair, who were arguing at the halfway line, started bumping into each other and facing off when Son physically separated them, putting himself in the middle and forcing them apart before their own teammates stepped in to calm them down.

While disagreements between teammates are common and can often look ugly, they rarely get physical. Rarely, arguments between teammates escalate and the referee is forced to get involved, often ending in yellow or even red cards.

Perhaps the most famous examples of a disagreement getting out of control was between Newcastle United players Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer during a Premier League match against Aston Villa in 2005, when both players were sent off after coming to blows.

From a purely tactical standpoint, stepping in to break up what looked likely to be a physical altercation between Diaz and Kuscevic could have potentially robbed Korea of a disadvantage. Son's actions, however, are far more in keeping with the spirit of a friendly.

Son's brief intervention was quickly spotted by fans and started to go viral online.

Sport Bible, a popular British football news service, picked up on the story on Tuesday with a report headlined, "Heung-Min Son 'In Contention For Nobel Peace Prize' After Splitting Up Fight Between Chile Players."

Korea beat Chile 2-0 on Tuesday with Premier League stars Hwang Hee-chan and Son scoring the goals. Discipline appeared to be an issue for the visitors throughout the match, with defender Alex Ibacache sent off at the start of the second half after receiving two yellow cards.

The Chile game was the second of four friendlies the national team is scheduled to play this month. Korea earlier lost 5-1 to world No. 1 Brazil on Thursday last week.

Korea will next face Paraguay at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi at 8 p.m. on Friday, before leaving South America behind to take on Egypt in the final friendly at Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on June 14.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]