"Do you not even greet people in person?"... Senior Chong Tae-se also makes a deliberate statement on "refusing to greet," saying, "Isn't it time to stop now?"

*This content was translated by AI.

Chong Tae-se (42), a former North Korea national football team player, could not hide his bitterness over the controversy surrounding junior players' "refusal to line up" that erupted immediately after the quarterfinal match against Japan at the Asian Games. It was pointed out that despite showing the tenacity to charge toward the goal until the very end, they lost even a fair evaluation due to a lack of respect for their opponents.

The Japanese media outlet "Number Web" reported on the 4th an interview with Chong Tae-se and Kim Jong-sung, coach of the North Korea national team, regarding the refusal-to-line-up incident by the North Korea men's football national team that arose immediately after the Asian Games quarterfinal. Chong Tae-se, who is of Japanese-Korean descent, became widely known among domestic fans as "People's Rooney" for his role as a starting forward for the North Korea national team at the 2010 South Africa World Cup.

North Korea lost to Japan 0-1 in the quarterfinals of the men's football tournament at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held on the 26th of last month at Toyota Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

According to the report, Chong Tae-se conveyed that the psychology of North Korea players facing the match against Japan was distinctly different from other games. Chong analyzed, "Even if they pretend not to be conscious of it on the surface, when you actually watch the game, their performance is completely different due to the thought that they cannot afford to lose." As a senior who once played for the North Korea national team, he accurately pinpointed the particularity of matches against Japan felt by his juniors.

He also voiced opinions on the referee's decisions made during this match. Regarding the scene where Ri Il-song was sent off for accumulating yellow cards due to a simulation action in the second half, Chong Tae-se argued, "It was an offside situation, so it is too harsh to pull out a card for simulation." On the other hand, regarding the suspected handball incident by Japan near the end of the match, he maintained an objective stance, stating, "It was a difficult situation to call a foul."

The part that saddened him most was the attitude shown by his juniors immediately after the match ended. North Korea players, harboring dissatisfaction with the decisions, caused controversy by refusing even the post-match line-up greeting with Japanese players and heading straight toward the North Korea cheering squad in the stands.

Chong Tae-se, who watched this scene, said, "It is better to stop refusing to line up," failing to hide his bitterness. The media also commented, "It is extremely regrettable that despite showing excellent tenacity for 90 minutes, North Korea failed to adopt an attitude of acknowledging the opponent after defeat, thereby losing a fair evaluation."

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*This content was translated by AI.