SEOUL: Controversy over the Korea Football Association's alleged sexual bribery of foreign referees has spread beyond South Korea's borders just a day after the KFA issued a public apology over the growing furore.
The Japan Football Association confirmed Sunday (Aug 9) it is investigating four Japanese referees who are allegedly among the recipients.
Kyodo News reported Sunday that the JFA is looking into the four officials and intends to disclose its findings once the inquiry is complete.
The allegations trace back to a 2016 audit by South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism that resurfaced this month after a JTBC report on Aug 6.
According to the audit, the KFA used corporate credit cards on eight occasions to pay for entertainment at massage parlours for roughly 10 foreign referees and match commissioners connected to seven matches — three World Cup and Olympic qualifiers and four friendlies — played in South Korea between March 2011 and March 2012.
The national team went 5-2-0 in those matches, fuelling speculation that results may have been influenced, but South Korean officials deny such claims.
The KFA apologised Saturday amid mounting pressure over the allegations, a parliamentary hearing into its governance, and a police raid on its offices last week tied to a separate controversy over the 2024 hiring of former national team coach Hong Myung-bo.
"We are deeply sorry for the disappointment and concern caused by the various issues and controversies surrounding the association," the KFA said in a statement, adding that it did not condone the past conduct and pledged sweeping reforms to restore transparency.
Japanese outlets have published the identities of two referees said to have officiated matches at the centre of the audit, including one now serving as a JFA referee manager overseeing J-League officials and another who headed the four-man, all-Japanese crew for South Korea's 2012 World Cup qualifier win over Kuwait — a match the audit says involved entertainment for two referees. Some Japanese commentary has cautioned that officiating a match doesn't confirm an individual referee personally received entertainment.
International Business Times UK on Thursday raised the possibility of FIFA sanctions and governance reform, but observers say formal discipline is unlikely.
FIFA's ethics code generally caps its statute of limitations at five to 10 years; this conduct likely falls outside the narrower, unlimited category for sexual abuse or exploitation, and most referees named have since retired.
A related South Korean criminal investigation was previously closed for insufficient evidence. - The Korea Herald/ANN
