'International Humiliation' European Media: "Cruel Korea, Crucified Its Ace... Police Even Intervened in Serious Incident" [World Cup Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

After suffering a shocking defeat against the weakest team, South Africa, and dropping to third place in the group, the South Korean national football team is facing global international humiliation due to a serious cyberbullying incident that occurred outside the stadium. As fan criticism spiraled into extreme personal attacks and threats, Serbian media, the home country of Seol Young-woo's club Tsukuba Zvezda, began focusing intensely on the incident.

Serbian sports media 'Sportino' strongly criticized the vicious comments by Korean football fans on the 25th (local time) through an article titled "Cruel Lynch Due to World Cup, Fans Crucified Zvezda's Ace. Police Even Intervene to Resolve the Incident."

The media noted, "Koreans are generally known as kind, cultured, and disciplined people with a good reputation," but added, "However, the story is different when it comes to football. Korean fans are often trapped between harsh realities and enormous expectations."

It further reported, "The Tiger of Asia (South Korea) lost 0-1 to South Africa, plunging fans into despair, and this defeat is highly likely to lead to failure in reaching the tournament. Disappointed fans are attacking all national team players. Especially, despite playing solidly against South Africa under coach Hugo Broos, Zvezda's ace Seol Young-woo was singled out as the culprit of this defeat."

In fact, during this tournament, Seol Young-woo tirelessly played in the 3-4-2-1 formation of the Hong Myung-bo team, alternating between the left and right wing positions. In the first match against the Czech Republic, he played the full 90 minutes as a right-sided defender, contributing to a 2-1 victory. In the second match against Mexico, he moved to the left side and played 71 minutes. In the final match against South Africa, he returned to the right side and played the full 90 minutes, fighting hard.

The local Serbian media pointed out that after the match, social networking services (SNS) were filled with unbearable insulting messages, comments, and threats. The media stated, "Seol Young-woo's SNS was filled with insulting messages and threats. The targets were not only the player himself but also his family," highlighting the severity of the situation.

As the situation spiraled out of control, Seol Young-woo's management company issued an official statement and declared immediate legal action. The media quoted the management company's statement, saying, "Among the recently confirmed comments and messages, cases were identified that went beyond the limits of healthy opinion expression, including profanity, personal attacks, malicious defamation, and the spread of false facts." It further explained, "Such behavior cannot be justified under any circumstances and can cause serious harm not only to the player but also to his family and those around him." It also warned of strong legal measures against illegal acts to resolve the incident.

Seol Young-woo himself had expressed his willingness to accept the critical public opinion in a mixed zone interview after the match. At the time, Seol said, "Since the team's performance was not good, it is natural that many people are expressing dissatisfaction. As a player, just as one receives praise for good performances, one must be prepared to receive criticism when things go wrong. The only way is to repay the fans with good performances again," showing a calm demeanor.

Regarding the chaotic atmosphere outside, he also said, "I tried not to pay attention to the stories coming from outside. Ultimately, it is our players who play on the field."

However, foreign media could not understand such extreme condemnation by Korean fans. 'Sportino' pointed out, "Seol Young-woo played excellently during the victory against the Czech Republic. Although criticism began after the defeat against Mexico, coach Hong Myung-bo trusted him and started him in the lineup for the South Africa match. Despite never being the worst player on the field, Seol Young-woo was stigmatized as the main culprit of Korea's defeat."

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*This content was translated by AI.