KFA Official Statement: "Stop Misjudging and Escalating Internal Team Conflicts... We Will Take Serious Action Against the Spread of False and Distorted Information"

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The Korea Football Association (KFA) expressed deep concern over the indiscriminate speculation and malicious defamation directed at national team players that has been spreading on online platforms recently, and officially called for restraint.

On the 13th, the KFA released an official statement titled "A Message to Fans Who Love and Support Korean Football," announcing its policy of protecting the players and taking a firm stance against the spread of distorted information.

The association pointed out that "recently, unverified information and speculative claims about national team players have been spreading, centered on social networking services (SNS) and online communities, and excessive criticism and personal attacks targeting some players have continued."

It further stated, "We respect the diverse opinions and criticisms from fans regarding the Gyeong Gi-ryeok-gwa (CEO) team's operations, but we express deep concern about the situation in which players are exposed to excessive criticism due to speculation and malicious defamation spread without fact-checking, and earnestly ask for restraint."

In particular, the association specifically pointed out distorted content and personal attacks. The association stated, "There is ongoing behavior that interprets some training scenes or daily appearances in a fragmented manner to treat internal team discord as a fait accompli, or spreads so-called 'stock market rumors' that differ from the facts, as well as behavior that mocks players and damages their reputation through deepfake videos, among others," and criticized that "furthermore, the level of criticism has crossed the line, with people going to individual players' SNS accounts and their affiliated team's accounts to launch personal attacks or demand their expulsion."

It emphasized, "Such behavior goes beyond the scope of legitimate criticism and can impose a serious mental burden on individual players, and is by no means beneficial to Korean football as a whole."

Regarding copyright infringement and the distribution of fake news, it also hinted at the possibility of legal action. The association warned, "We will also take a firm stance against behavior that uses videos and photos falling under the association's intellectual property rights without authorization to spread false and distorted information, and gains undue profit through such means."

It also clearly stated its position on internal communication and organizational culture. The association said, "All players of the national team are valuable members who deserve respect," explaining that "each player may have different thoughts and opinions, and the process of acknowledging each other's differences, freely exchanging opinions, and finding the best direction for the team is a necessary part of building a healthy organization. Misjudging the internal dynamics of the team and escalating conflicts based solely on fragmented interpretations or speculation should be avoided."

Finally, the association added, "For the national team to compete in matches and tournaments as one team, communication and trust among members are important, and the association is taking on the role and responsibility of supporting the players so they can fully focus on their matches with a sense of gravity," and "We are seriously accepting that this situation has caused worry and concern for fans. While listening to the voices of the players, we will also listen more humbly to the diverse opinions and criticisms of fans."

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.View Original