"Controversy over South Korean Football Association's sexual entertainment for Japanese referees, investigation results..." JFA leadership makes direct announcement

*This content was translated by AI.

Regarding allegations that the former Korea Football Association (KFA) provided sexual entertainment to foreign referee teams during international matches held domestically, the Japan Football Association (JFA), which had conducted its own investigation, announced that it could not confirm any inappropriate entertainment involving its own referees.

Japanese media outlet "Sponichi Annex" reported on the 20th that "the Japan Football Association held a board meeting in Tokyo today" and "reported that an investigation into allegations that the Korea Football Association provided sexual entertainment to foreign referees found no evidence of inappropriate entertainment."

According to reports, the Japan Football Association conducted a comprehensive investigation of seven Japanese referees involved in the sexual entertainment controversy with the cooperation of lawyers from an external law firm. Among them, six underwent face-to-face hearings, while one had their facts ascertained through written submissions.

After the board meeting, Kazuyuki Yukawa, Managing Director of the Japan Football Association, met with reporters and explained: "There were reports that the Korea Football Association provided sexual entertainment to Japanese referees, but we could not confirm such facts. We also report that we have neither received nor been informed of any request for investigative cooperation or reports from Korean authorities regarding this matter, including at the time."

Yukawa further emphasized: "We confirmed two key points: whether match-fixing occurred and whether excessive entertainment took place, and we confirmed that neither happened. Unless new reports or circumstances emerge, we have no plans to conduct additional investigations."

Previously, according to domestic football industry reports, an examination of the 2016 Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism audit results revealed that the Korea Football Association allegedly provided sexual entertainment by guiding over ten foreign referees to massage establishments and paying with corporate cards during a total of seven matches from 2011 to 2012, including the 2014 Brazil World Cup qualifiers and the 2012 London Olympics final qualifiers.

In particular, internal documents were confirmed for the February 2012 World Cup qualifiers, showing that under the guise of "referee massage," the matter went through staff members and department heads before receiving approval from the vice president. South Korea recorded five wins and two draws in those seven matches. The controversy intensified when a football association official was reported to have stated that this was "a customary practice."

Subsequently, Japanese news agency "Kyodo News" also reported that "in connection with reports of sexual entertainment by the Korean Football Association, an investigation has been launched targeting referees including four Japanese referees who officiated in those matches at the time."

Criticism from foreign media outlets followed in succession. Vietnamese media outlet "VN," along with British media outlets "The Independent" and "Daily Mail," stated that "the Korea Football Association admitted to providing inappropriate entertainment, including prostitution, to referee teams visiting South Korea over ten years ago and issued an official apology."

As the controversy spread uncontrollably, the Korea Football Association bowed its head, stating: "We deeply apologize for causing concern with reports about events from over a decade ago that were not even known to internal members, including National Assembly hearings and searches and seizures. Such inappropriate behavior or use of corporate cards does not occur at present. We will undertake rigorous organizational reform in light of this incident."

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*This content was translated by AI.