'As feared,' 300 million won support received, North Korean hanbok fans cheer... No 'joint support' as promised [Suwon field]

*This content was translated by AI.

A support group that received hundreds of millions of won in government funds while claiming to cheer for both teams simultaneously displayed a distorted behavior by unilaterally cheering only for one side on the field. The joint support group, established under private initiative with approximately 300 million won in North-South Cooperation Fund support from the Ministry of Unification, completely ignored SuwonFC Wimin (Republic of Korea) in a manner that made the term 'joint' seem meaningless, instead positioning itself as a supporter of the hometown women's soccer team (North Korea) and effectively turning the home stadium into a North Korean home ground.

The scene of the AFC Women's Champions League (AWCL) semi-final match between SuwonFC Wimin and the hometown team held at 7 p.m. on the 20th at Suwon Sports Complex was filled with an alien atmosphere from start to finish.

The joint support group, which filled the stands opposite the main stand, openly chanted only for the hometown team from the first half. Even at the critical moment in the 19th minute of the first half when SuwonFC Wimin seized a corner kick opportunity and launched an attack, they inexplicably shouted a chant for the hometown team. The sound was loud enough to reach the press seats on the opposite side of the joint support group.

At the 21st minute of the first half, when Haruhi Suzuki's header struck the goalpost, and at the 30th minute when foreign player Milenyia's right-footed shot hit the goalpost in succession, silence fell during the home team's frustrating moments.

The stands, which were as quiet as a mouse when SuwonFC Wimin launched an attack in the 31st minute of the first half, erupted in a massive roar whenever the hometown team went on the attack, such as in the 38th and 42nd minutes.

This bias reached its peak in the second half. In the 5th minute of the second half, SuwonFC Wimin's Ayaka connected a high ball in front of the goal with a skillful right-footed shot to score the opening goal.

Even at the moment when the goal was declared valid after video assistant referee (VAR) review, not even a single cheer or clap was heard from the joint support group area.

In contrast, just five minutes later in the 10th minute of the second half, when the hometown team's Jo-gok scored an equalizing header from a free kick, the support group area was instantly covered in enthusiastic cheers as if nothing had happened.

The climax occurred in the final moments of the second half. Trailing 1-2 in the 34th minute of the second half, SuwonFC Wimin seized a dramatic penalty kick (PK) chance, with captain Ji So-yun stepping up as the kicker. At the moment when the legend of South Korean women's soccer and the team captain prepared to shoot, a loud noise was heard from the joint support group area as if to obstruct Ji So-yun before she even took the kick. Moreover, when Ji So-yun's right-footed shot missed the goal and resulted in a miss, they cheered in unison like away team supporters, celebrating the miss.

Park Gil-young, head coach of SuwonFC Wimin, who entered the official post-match press conference, showed a mix of bitterness and helplessness on his face. When asked by reporters whether they had enjoyed the home advantage, Coach Park fell silent for a long time in deep thought.

Coach Park eventually spoke heavily, saying, "We are the Republic of Korea soccer team SuwonFC Wimin," before pausing with "In various ways..." and, overwhelmed by emotion, could not continue speaking.

Coach Park continued, "I was upset throughout the match. My heart feels strange," while speaking extremely sparingly about the atmosphere at the home ground where they had to fight a lonely battle while being marginalized.

Nevertheless, Coach Park Gil-young continued to embrace his players until the end. In particular, he took all the responsibility for captain Ji So-yun, who shed tears on the field after the critical penalty kick miss. Coach Park said, "The players entered the match with the mindset of wanting to play one more time. In the second half, we emphasized second balls a lot, and the players were impressive." He added, "It was me who told Ji So-yun to take the penalty kick. The responsibility is mine. I told her not to worry about it. I said, 'I told you to take it, so I will take responsibility.' I also told her not to bow her head," showing firm trust.

The banners filling the stadium interior also showed a stark contrast to the original purpose of sports. The marginalized home fans, SuwonFC Wimin supporters, hung a banner reading 'Suwon's flower will not wither,' focusing solely on pure support messages for sports and players. In contrast, the joint support group area, backed by government funds, was filled only with welcome messages such as 'Peace and friendship through sports, welcome to the hometown women's soccer team' and 'Meet again in Wonsan, welcome to the hometown women's soccer team.'

At the highest stage of Asian club football, not a national team match, a distorted farce was fully proven on the home ground where a support group that received a huge amount of national tax money, 300 million won, ignored home team players and cheered enthusiastically for the opposing team's victory.

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*This content was translated by AI.