North Korean team publicly humiliated

PFDC – PYONGYANG, The North Korean national football team, opponent of Iran in the 2011 Asian Cup, had to undergo a public mauling after their return home from World Cup.

The team, with exception of the foreign based players, and their coach Kim Jung-Hun had returned home from the World Cup, where they lost all three games including a 0-7 hammering by Portugal, with delay after making a stop in Beijing.

While the players were lucky to just be excoriated in front of 400 athletes and sports students for “betraying the country” for approximately six hours – still a rather mild punishment for North Korean standards – the coach is reported to additionally having been assigned to work at a construction site and having to fear for his safety.

Jung-Hun is accused of directly having betrayed the leader’s son and therefore all players were forced to critisize their coach during the public humiliation.

It has to be seen if or in which shape the team will appear in next January’s Asian Cup, where they have been grouped with Iran, Iraq and the UAE.

Should the unfortunately often double-minded FIFA stick to there “no political interference”-policy, North Korea could even be expelled from the continental tournament.