South Korea’s World Cup team clashes with the media for insulting Son Heung-min | Football

South Korean players are said to be refusing to speak to foreign media outside of their World Cup activities.

South Korea’s preparations for their World Cup match against Mexico have been overshadowed by the rift between the players and the country’s media following comments made about captain Son Heung-min.

The dispute reportedly led to the resignation of one of the team’s publicists on Tuesday. The national team has not confirmed that it will stop the activities that have been reported by the journalists who cover the South Korean team in Guadalajara.

Access to the media was suspended after comments against Son were caught on camera. The players reportedly did not speak to South Korean media outside of their World Cup commitments, and scheduled interviews with the players were canceled.

Mexican journalists said there was a meeting between the team’s journalists and South Korean journalists to discuss the matter.

There was no radio access Tuesday. Before the press conference on Wednesday.

South Korea’s football association said it regrets “the inappropriate comments some journalists made during the training session of the national football team at the Guadalajara camp”. The agency added the comments caused “deep frustration and disappointment” within the group.

The incident took place during an open training session on June 7, a few days ago South Korea beat the Czech Republic 2-1 in his first World Cup match.

The 33-year-old, who is running with his teammates, was mocked by anonymous journalists for his military history in videos recorded by JTBC radio, which has rights to the race in South Korea. The video was later leaked, causing a lot of buzz on social media.

While helping South Korea win gold at the 2018 Asian Games, Son was exempted from the 21-month military service required for active men.

Son later completed other assignments, including a three-week military training course in 2020 and community service.

The organization said in a statement on Monday that it will “continue to prioritize the security of the group and work to establish a good environment for the media”.

Son, who left Tottenham for Los Angeles FC a year ago, missed a chance in the win over the Czech Republic, with Hwang In-beom and Oh Hyeon-gyu scoring in Guadalajara.

South Korea play again in Guadalajara on Thursday when they face Mexico in Group A.