The political sphere and local governments were also turned upside down by the 'People Despicable UTD' Incheon derogatory banner... FCSeoul "Plans to submit a statement of facts after assessing the situation"

*This content was translated by AI.

Controversy erupted after a banner insulting Incheon United appeared among FCSeoul spectators, prompting the club to launch an investigation.

On the 5th, during the 'Gyeong-In Derby' between FCSeoul and Incheon United held at Seoul World Cup Stadium, a banner with the phrase 'Passing Water + Conditional Theft = People Despicable UTD' was hung in the FCSeoul supporter section.

The banner targeted both the former and current CEOs of the Incheon club and its home city simultaneously. 'Passing Water' is a play on the name of Chairman Jeon Dal-soo, replacing the character 'soo (수)' with the character for water ('water ') to mock the 2024 water bottle-throwing incident. 'Conditional Theft' is a mocking reference to the controversy over current Director Jeon's salary increase, using the character for thief ('thief ').

Notably, the Chinese characters for Incheon () were written as 'People Despicable' (), meaning "people are despicable," drawing criticism that the act went beyond provoking between clubs to insulting the entire region and citizens of Incheon, a community-based club.

The incident led to condemnation from the political sphere and local governments. The Democratic Party of Korea Incheon City Chapter issued a statement criticizing it as "an act of mocking and insulting not just a specific club but also its home city and local residents." The People Power Party Incheon City Chapter also released a comment, stating, "Expressions that demean specific regions and citizens cannot be tolerated under the guise of supporter culture," and called for an apology from FCSeoul.

Mayor Park Chan-dae of Incheon also stated on his social media (SNS) on the 8th that "as both the club owner and mayor, I will not overlook regional insults that undermine the essence of sports," vowing to respond firmly until responsible measures are taken.

The Korea Professional Football League requested a fact-checking report from FCSeoul to assess the situation. In response, an FCSeoul official stated, "We are currently verifying the relevant situation in accordance with the league's request and plan to submit a statement of facts as soon as the review is complete."

On the 8th, during the match between Incheon United and Bucheon FC held at Incheon Football Stadium amid the ongoing controversy, Incheon supporters took action by hanging a counter-banner. Incheon fans displayed banners in their home supporter section reading "The Pride of 3 Million: Incheon Metropolitan City," "Benevolent Flowing," and "WE LOVE OUR CITY·CLUB," directly responding to FCSeoul's derogatory banner.

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*This content was translated by AI.