North Korean players turn on referee in tumultuous end to quarterfinal

Football

Published: 02 Oct. 2023, 14:04 Updated: 02 Oct. 2023, 20:54

North Korean players turn on referee in tumultuous end to quarterfinal

North Korea's Kim Kyong-sok, center, rounds on referee Rustam Lutfullin during a men's quarterfinal match between North Korea and Japan at the Hangzhou Asian Games in Hangzhou, China on Sunday. [AFP/YONHAP]

Japan’s 2-1 win over North Korea in the quarterfinals of the Asian Games men’s football tournament ended in disarray Sunday as several North Korean players turned on the referee after the final whistle blew.

North Korea captain Jang Kuk-chol and team mate Kim Kyong-sok remonstrated heatedly with referee Rustam Lutfullin after the final whistle, pursuing the Uzbek in the middle of the pitch as he tried to back away.

With the confrontation, which appeared to include at least some pushing and shoving, drawing in the assistant referees and several security staff, North Korean coach Sin Yong-nam also ran to his players to try to defuse the situation.

The North Korean players were earlier furious when Lutfullin awarded a penalty to Japan after goalkeeper Kang Juh Yok charged out and clipped the feet of Jun Nishikawa with an outstretched arm.

Waving his arms and shaking his head, an angry Kang argued with the referee before Yuta Matsumura slotted home from the spot in the 80th minute to see Japan through at the Xiaoshan Sports Centre Stadium.

"I admit that our players were a little bit over-excited in the match but it is football," Sin said at the post-match press conference. "But there are confrontations in football matches... I think our behavior is acceptable."

Physical altercations in football — especially involving players turning on referees and especially after the whistle has blown and there is no longer the heat of the game excuse — can be harshly punished with match bans and sanctions.

But despite the very stark image of Lutfullin hiding behind security guards at the end of Sunday’s game, North Korea are very unlikely to face any real punishment.

International organizations are often toothless when it comes to punishing North Korea due to how opaque the country’s sporting system is and the lack of any real available punishments.

As North Korean teams tend to appear and disappear from the international scene at will, match bans or suspensions are essentially useless — athletes and teams just vanish back into North Korea and reappear when the punishment is over, presumably without any impact on their athletic career in the country.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is also prone to overlooking infractions in its quest to be as magnanimous and equal as possible.

The OCA has already subverted a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) ban to permit North Korea to fly its flag at the Games, despite the flag being banned by WADA due to the country’s non-compliance with global anti-doping rules.

North Korea was declared non-compliant by WADA in October 2021 due to a lack of transparency or outside inspection of the North Korean anti-doping association. As a consequence, the North Korean flag it banned from being flown at any major sporting events other than the Olympics and Paralympics.

As a signatory, the OCA is required to follow the WADA sanction and the Asian Games organizer willingly chose to ignore the ruling and allow North Korea to compete under its flag.

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