*This content was translated by AI.
It is an international humiliation. As allegations of past sexual bribery targeting foreign referees at the Korea Football Association (KFA) have spread across East Asian football circles, both the Japan Football Association and the Chinese Football Association have released their own investigation results to draw a clear line.
On the 23rd (Korean time), the Chinese Football Association officially stated via its social networking service (SNS): "Regarding reports suggesting that a Chinese Football Association official was involved in the KFA's 'inappropriate hospitality' allegations, we quickly formed an investigation team and conducted an inquiry." It further declared: "There is no evidence to prove that the KFA provided inappropriate hospitality to officials of the Chinese Football Association."
This investigation began after allegations emerged that three employees of the Chinese Football Association who visited South Korea during a China-Korea referee exchange program organized by the KFA in January 2012 had received inappropriate hospitality. The Chinese Football Association announced on the 19th that it had begun investigating the facts, and concluded its inquiry just four days later due to insufficient evidence. It appears that securing concrete physical evidence was realistically limited given that the incident occurred 14 years ago.
However, the Chinese Football Association added: "We are closely monitoring the progress of this situation. If new facts or clues emerge, we will conduct a re-investigation," leaving room for future action.
Prior to this, the Japan Football Association (JFA) also released the results of its investigation into its own referees, dismissing the allegations outright.
According to Japanese media outlet 'Sponichi Annex', the Japan Football Association held a board meeting in Tokyo on the 20th and reported the results of a comprehensive investigation into seven Japanese referees allegedly involved in the sexual bribery controversy. Yukawa Kazuyuki, Executive Director of the JFA, told local reporters: "It has not been confirmed that the KFA provided sexual hospitality to Japanese referees." He added: "We verified two key points — whether match-fixing occurred and whether excessive hospitality was accepted — but found neither. Unless new circumstances arise, no further investigation will be conducted."
This scandal came to light when a 2016 Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism audit report was made public. According to the report, between 2011 and 2012, the KFA allegedly provided sexual hospitality to over ten foreign referees by guiding them to massage establishments and paying with corporate cards during seven matches, including the 2014 Brazil World Cup qualifiers and the final round of the 2012 London Olympics. In February 2012, during the World Cup qualifiers, internal documents were discovered that had been approved by the vice president under the guise of 'referee massage.' The Korean national team achieved five wins and two draws in those seven matches. Further shock came from statements by KFA officials describing the practice as "routine," suggesting it was an established custom.
Subsequently, major international media outlets including Japan's Kyodo News, Vietnam's VN, Britain's The Independent, and The Daily Mail intensively reported on the KFA's inappropriate treatment of referees, escalating the issue into an international controversy.
As the situation spiraled out of control, the KFA issued a formal apology, stating: "We deeply apologize for causing concern with reports about events from over a decade ago." It added: "Such inappropriate conduct and use of corporate cards are no longer occurring today. We will undertake rigorous organizational reform."
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*This content was translated by AI.
