Celtic midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng sparked controversy in the Asian Cup semi-final following what were taken as racist celebrations while playing for South Korea against Japan.
| “The treatment he got from the Scottish league, especially in the away games, the people who made noises like the sound of the monkeys in Scotland when he played away games” – Korean Football Association spokesman |
The 22-year-old appeared to impersonate a monkey after successfully converting a penalty, which proceeded to fuel great anger in Japan. However, South Korean authorities later claimed his actions were merely to highlight abuse he had received whilst playing in Scotland.
As a result the Asian Football Confederation has said it will take no action, while the Japanese Football Association accepted their Korean counterparts’ explanation and won’t be pursuing the matter any further.
“The treatment he got from the Scottish league, especially in the away games, the people who made noises like the sound of the monkeys in Scotland when he played away games, that is something he wanted to highlight,” explained a Korean Football Association spokesman to BBC Scotland.
“Even though they call him a monkey as an Asian, he wanted to show how strong they are in Asia. That was the main intention.”
The game itself still ended in disappointment for Ki and his Celtic colleague Cha Du-Ri, with Japan eventually winning on penalties after a 2-2 draw. Japan will now take on Australia in Saturday’s final in Qatar.
