*This content was translated by AI.
A courageous act by the K League 1 professional soccer club Gwangju FC has been reported not only in South Korea but also in the United Kingdom.
On the 11th (Korean time), The Scottish Sun highlighted that Holmberth Fridjonsson, a former striker for Celtic FC, was hailed as a hero after rescuing a man from a burning vehicle.
The media detailed that Gwangju's squad, currently playing under Fridjonsson, discovered the accident scene by chance while returning from an away match against Bucheon FC over the weekend, and players and club officials bravely stepped in to carry out the rescue.
The accident occurred early on the 9th near the Singa IC exit of Gwangju Second Ring Road. Two vehicles collided, and large flames were already rising from the hood of the passenger car involved. It was a tense situation where the driver could have easily been put in danger.
Upon discovering the accident scene while returning from their away trip, the Gwangju squad bus stopped immediately.
Shin Chang-moo and a club official who had disembarked from the bus rushed toward the vehicle with rising flames to check if there was a driver inside.
After locating the driver, Shin Chang-moo immediately jumped into the driver's seat area to begin the rescue, while the club official headed back to the squad bus to retrieve an extinguisher.
During this time, Fridjonsson also ran toward the vehicle and helped Shin Chang-moo rescue the driver. Club officials also contributed to extinguishing the fire using the extinguishers they had brought.
The Scottish Sun reported that "Fridjonsson pulled the injured driver out of the vehicle with the help of his Gwangju teammate Shin Chang-moo," adding that "other players and club staff also got off the bus and used extinguishers to put out the fire. Both drivers of the accident vehicles were taken to a hospital for treatment."
What drew even more attention was that the Gwangju players did not report this heroic act to their club at all.
The players' good deed came to light only after a witness present at the scene submitted video footage to Han Moon-chul TV, a YouTube channel operated by traffic accident specialist lawyer Han Moon-chul.
The tipster explained, "I am reporting Gwangju FC's heroic act. I witnessed two vehicles involved in an accident. It was extremely urgent. Flames were rising from the engine compartment of the crashed vehicle, creating a very dangerous situation that could have easily led to casualties."
He continued, "At that moment, I saw Gwangju club officials nearby quickly get out of their car and rush toward the accident scene. They approached the burning vehicle, personally pulled the driver out, and actively extinguished the fire using an extinguisher stored in the club's vehicle."
He added, "I was surprised and deeply moved to see them prioritize rescuing the driver trapped in the accident vehicle over their own safety, even in such a dangerous situation, and also put out the fire."
It was reported that Gwangju FC itself only learned of the players' heroic act after the tip video was made public.
A Gwangju official stated, "Only the squad was at the scene at the time, and since no one reported it, we only found out about this for the first time internally. Seeing them enter a burning vehicle to rescue the driver was absolutely not an easy task. Watching the video, we were also greatly surprised and felt they did something truly remarkable."
The Scottish Sun also paid special attention to this aspect. The media explained that "Gwangju players did not separately inform club officials about the incident," and added that "a witness later posted the footage online, bringing it to public attention belatedly."
Upon learning of the related news, the Korea Professional Football League is also considering awarding (commending) the players and officials who participated in the rescue at the time. According to the league's disciplinary regulations, commendations can be issued through a disciplinary committee for league employees or member organizations and individuals under the league's jurisdiction whose actions serve as an example to others.
Fridjonsson, a former striker for the Iceland national team, left his domestic club Fram in 2013 and joined the prestigious Scottish club Celtic FC for a transfer fee of 100,000 pounds (approximately 0.2 billion won). Although he did not make any first-team official appearances at Celtic FC and left the team after two years, he continued his playing career in various European leagues including Denmark, Norway, Italy, and Germany.
After joining Gwangju last year, Fridjonsson made nine appearances in the 2025 K League 1 season, scoring two goals. This season, he has played in 17 league matches, contributing one goal and two assists.
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*This content was translated by AI.
