Post by QPR Report on Apr 6, 2009 6:57:36 GMT
AP -
NKorea seeks FIFA probe into food-poisoning claim
By Jae-Soon Chang, Associated Press Writer
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea has accused rival South Korea of sickening its players with "adulterated foodstuff" ahead of last week's World Cup qualifier and wants football's world governing body to investigate the claim.
The North's football association also claimed in a statement late Sunday that the alleged food-poisoning is part of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's "moves for confrontation" with the North.
North Korea coach Kim Jong Hun had raised the allegation after losing 1-0 to South Korea on April 1.
"It was beyond all doubt that the incident was a product of a deliberate act perpetrated by adulterated foodstuff as they could not get up all of a sudden just before the match," a statement from the North said, expanding on complaints which Kim made in the wake of the loss.
Kim had asked for the match to be delayed and moved to a neutral venue, claiming three of his players had food poisoning, but FIFA rejected the request. The Korea Football Association, the South's soccer federation, said in the aftermath of the match that a professional sports doctor had examined the North Korean players and found no serious problem. More detailed examinations, including blood tests, were refused.
"If an accident happens during training or transit, and it affects the match, the host country should take responsibility for the accident," Kim Joo-sung, head of the KFA's international affairs department, said Monday, according to Yonhap news agency. "But matters related to hotels or the food are the responsibility of the visiting team."
The match was played amid frayed ties between the two Koreas since the conservative Lee took office last year with a pledge to get tough with the North.
It also came amid high tensions over Pyongyang's long-range rocket launch plan. The North fired the rocket over Japan on Sunday, claiming it was a satellite launch. But South Korean and U.S. officials said no object entered orbit.
The North's football association also renewed a complaint about the decision of the referee not to award a goal early in the second half of Wednesday's game, claiming star striker Jong Tae-se's header crossed the goal line before it was saved. Television replays were inconclusive.
"The match thus turned into a theater of plot-breeding and swindling," said the statement, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. "It is as clear as noonday that it was a product of the Lee Myung Bak group's moves for confrontation with the DPRK and a deliberate behavior bred by the unsavory forces instigated by it."
DPRK is the abbreviation for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"North Korea can lodge an objection with FIFA and wait for a decision," the KFA said of Kim's complaint about the goal, according to Yonhap.
South Korea's win put the 2002 World Cup semifinalists atop Group B in Asian qualifying with 11 points, one point ahead of North Korea in the five-team group.
www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/2009-04-05-2937947684_x.htm
NKorea seeks FIFA probe into food-poisoning claim
By Jae-Soon Chang, Associated Press Writer
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea has accused rival South Korea of sickening its players with "adulterated foodstuff" ahead of last week's World Cup qualifier and wants football's world governing body to investigate the claim.
The North's football association also claimed in a statement late Sunday that the alleged food-poisoning is part of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's "moves for confrontation" with the North.
North Korea coach Kim Jong Hun had raised the allegation after losing 1-0 to South Korea on April 1.
"It was beyond all doubt that the incident was a product of a deliberate act perpetrated by adulterated foodstuff as they could not get up all of a sudden just before the match," a statement from the North said, expanding on complaints which Kim made in the wake of the loss.
Kim had asked for the match to be delayed and moved to a neutral venue, claiming three of his players had food poisoning, but FIFA rejected the request. The Korea Football Association, the South's soccer federation, said in the aftermath of the match that a professional sports doctor had examined the North Korean players and found no serious problem. More detailed examinations, including blood tests, were refused.
"If an accident happens during training or transit, and it affects the match, the host country should take responsibility for the accident," Kim Joo-sung, head of the KFA's international affairs department, said Monday, according to Yonhap news agency. "But matters related to hotels or the food are the responsibility of the visiting team."
The match was played amid frayed ties between the two Koreas since the conservative Lee took office last year with a pledge to get tough with the North.
It also came amid high tensions over Pyongyang's long-range rocket launch plan. The North fired the rocket over Japan on Sunday, claiming it was a satellite launch. But South Korean and U.S. officials said no object entered orbit.
The North's football association also renewed a complaint about the decision of the referee not to award a goal early in the second half of Wednesday's game, claiming star striker Jong Tae-se's header crossed the goal line before it was saved. Television replays were inconclusive.
"The match thus turned into a theater of plot-breeding and swindling," said the statement, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. "It is as clear as noonday that it was a product of the Lee Myung Bak group's moves for confrontation with the DPRK and a deliberate behavior bred by the unsavory forces instigated by it."
DPRK is the abbreviation for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"North Korea can lodge an objection with FIFA and wait for a decision," the KFA said of Kim's complaint about the goal, according to Yonhap.
South Korea's win put the 2002 World Cup semifinalists atop Group B in Asian qualifying with 11 points, one point ahead of North Korea in the five-team group.
www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/2009-04-05-2937947684_x.htm