'Unprecedented Humiliation' Son Heung-min Ostracism Controversy: It Was This Serious — "They Don't Even Call Him by His Name... They Refer to Him as 'Number 7' or 'That Person'" Shocking Reality That Is Hard to Believe

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

This is an unprecedented disgrace for Korean football. The very fact that the collapse of squad leadership and internal strife within the locker room — issues that should have been resolved on the pitch — were addressed as a formal agenda item by the country's highest audit institutional investor represents a dismal situation with no precedent in the history of Korean football.

At the National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee's state audit hearing held on the 21st, People Power Party lawmaker Jung Yeon-wook placed the collapse of leadership within the national team and conflicts between key players of the '96 LINE' under scrutiny.

Jeong (Rep.) rebuked Acting President Lee Yong-soo, asking, "Do you know that recently, among national team players, they do not call each other by name but refer to someone as 'Number 7'?" When the acting president replied, "Are you referring to Son Heung-min (34, LAFC)?", Jeong (Rep.) stated, "It appears to be true that within the squad, his name itself is absent and they simply call him 'Number 7' or 'That Person,'" adding, "Does this not indicate that internal teamwork has collapsed to the point where even mentioning his name directly is uncomfortable?"

The public airing of factional fights between specific generations and accumulated leadership conflicts is an unprecedented event. The fact that players representing the country have developed such deep emotional rifts that they cannot even utter the name of a captain who dedicated nine years to the team proves that the basic discipline of the national team has completely crumbled, going beyond a simple power struggle.

In fact, at the state audit hearing, details were revealed regarding the speculation about the simultaneous retirement from the national team of core members born in 1996 (Kim Min-jae, Hwang Hee-chan, and Hwang In-beom) that arose immediately after the match against Uzbekistan on October 6, as well as the substance of a late-night meeting. Indeed, following the end of the match, Hwang In-beom burst into tears, and only the three players born in 1996 were gathered separately, while Hyun Young-min Jeon Ryeok-gang-hwa (Chairman) conducted an emergency interview past midnight. The Football Association had maintained silence regarding this series of events until now.

However, when Jeong (Rep.) asked at the state audit hearing, "Isn't it true that many difficulties and problems in the operation of the Seon Su-deul-i (CEO) team were complained about?", the acting president admitted, "Yes, that is correct," officially acknowledging the internal strife. This clearly revealed that the Football Association had been preoccupied with hiding festering problems, using the simplistic logic that "matters inside the locker room should be resolved within the locker room" as a shield.

Jeong (Rep.) listed incidents including the 2022 Qatar World Cup, the 2023 social media blocking incident between Son Heung-min and Kim Min-jae, the 2024 Asian Cup table tennis gate, and even internal conflicts that arose during the recent refusal to participate in interviews for the North-Central America World Cup qualifiers. He then pressed, "Haven't the issues raised by the so-called '96 LINE' players accumulated over the nine-year captaincy system of Son Heung-min?" The acting president avoided answering, saying it was difficult to respond, but this amounted to admitting that the leadership vacuum and factional rifts within the Lee Mi (CEO) team had reached an irreversible state.

The incompetence and irresponsibility of the Football Association, which neglected chronic conflicts within the squad and was busy hiding behind the locker room, ultimately led to a farce at the state audit hearing that completely exposed the true face of Korean football. The current reality, where the most basic cohesion of the Lee Eo (CEO) team has plummeted to rock bottom amid a leadership vacuum and administrative chaos, will be recorded as the worst disgrace in history faced by Korean football.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original