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Alanyaspor's Hwang Ui-jo faces prospect of relegation-release double whammy

Published: 17 Apr. 2025, 14:48 Updated: 17 Apr. 2025, 15:08

PAIK JI-HWAN
[email protected]

Hwang Ui-jo speaks to reporters at Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on Feb. 14. [YONHAP]

Embattled Alanyaspor forward Hwang Ui-jo is in danger of seeing relegation before his contract expires with the Turkish club, as the team sits in 17th place on the 19-team Super Lig table as of Thursday with seven matches to go in the 2024-25 season.

Alanyaspor picked up five straight losses in their past five fixtures, slipping into the relegation zone, where the bottom four teams face direct relegation to the second-tier Turkish League 1. Lig.

Alanyaspor’s struggle comes before Hwang's possible departure upon the end of his contract on June 30. The 32-year-old rejoined the Turkish team on a one-year deal last September after playing for the club in the second half of the 2023-24 season on loan.

Facing relegation would add more turbulence to Hwang’s recent years in Europe, during which he was embroiled in an investigation into allegations that he filmed sexual encounters with women without their consent.

The incident stems from videos of Hwang’s sexual encounters with women shared by an unidentified Instagram user in 2023 who alleged that the footballer filmed the videos illegally.

Police found out in 2024 that the user was his sister-in-law, who received a three-year sentence later that year for leaking the videos and blackmailing him.

Hwang, meanwhile, was handed a one-year suspended sentence for charges related to the scandal in February.

He has continued his career at Alanyaspor since then, making his latest appearance for the team on April 6.

The veteran forward has played as a regular pick this season, with five goals and two assists across 27 appearances.

Alanyaspor forward Hwang Ui-jo, front, celebrates during a Super Lig match against Gaziantep at Alanya Oba Stadium in Turkey in a photo shared on Alanyaspor's official X account on Dec. 14, 2024. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Hwang also has 62 caps, but he has not been called up for the Korean national team since 2023 as the Korea Football Association suspended him from the squad and has yet to reverse its position.

Hwang has yet to reveal whether he plans to retire or pursue his career elsewhere.

Ending his career in Turkey would see him retire after a transfer-filled career during which he shone in Korea and Japan, spent a short, successful stint in France and then saw a downhill run of form along with charges against him.

Hwang spent the early years of his career in Korea and Japan and embarked on a journey to Europe by joining French club Bordeaux in 2019, where he became the club’s top scorer in both the 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns.

But the cash-strapped club held on until it was too late, refusing to consider a deal until the summer of 2022, when it crashed into financial administration and faced the threat of double relegation.

Premier League club Nottingham Forest, who were in the middle of one of the biggest shopping sprees in European football history at the time, snapped Hwang up and immediately loaned him out to Greek club Olympiacos.

Hwang struggled to adapt to the Super League club and ended up relegated to the bench and, ultimately, out of the squad completely. That loan ended in January 2023 when Forest shipped him off to FC Seoul.

Back in the K League, Hwang began to find his feet again, bagging four goals and four assists in 18 appearances.

He was called back to Nottingham in June 2023, but was loaned out to Championship side Norwich City where he scored three goals in 17 matches.

Norwich, however, ended the loan deal seven months early and sent him back to Forest in January 2024.

Without recording a single minute on the pitch, Nottingham loaned him out to Alanyaspor in February last year, before joining the Turkish club on a one-year deal last September.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]