Son Heung-min’s father, Son Woong-jung, a football coach, was reportedly “summary charged on Friday” with “abusing young players at his South Korean football training center.”
According to a Seoul-based news agency YonhapProsecutors demanded that Son Sr. and two other soccer coaches at his training center, Son Academy, “pay an undisclosed fine.”
Coaches are instructed to “complete a training program designed to prevent further child abuse.”
Yonhap said one of the attendees is Son Heung-min’s brother Heung-eun, who is three years older than the 32-year-old Tottenham striker.
Son Ung-jung, 62, is a well-known figure in South Korea, having played professional football as a striker for teams including Sangmu FC, Hyundai Horang-e and Ilhwa Chunma. He was also selected to represent South Korea’s B team in 1987.
Son Ung-jung (pictured) has reportedly been “summary charged” with “abusing young players at his South Korean football training centre”.
Son Wong-jung is the father of Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min (pictured).
The outlet said football coaches were accused by players and their parents of “physically and verbally abusing young players” at the Son Football Academy in Chuncheon.
In June, Mail Online reported that Son Ung-jung was accused of hitting a student with a corner flag for “ending a race.”
Son Ung-jung admitted that the incident occurred and apologized. However, she denied that the treatment of the players constituted physical abuse.
“This incident was not corporal punishment, but was a mutually agreed incident as part of physical training,” he said in a statement. The player came last in a race, he said, and was supposed to have received a “blow” to the thigh.
The player’s parents reported the soccer coach to police in March after a training camp, alleging that Son Sr. hit their son in the thigh with a flag on March 9, at a training camp in Okinawa, Japan, requiring two weeks of treatment for the injury.
“It makes me angry to think of how scared my son must have been,” the student’s father told Yonhap.
“I decided to file a case with the police because I didn’t want to see another case like this.”
Police referred the matter to prosecutors in April, and Son Sr later issued a statement regarding the incident after attempting to resolve the matter with the player’s parents.
In June, Mail Online reported that Son Ung-jung (left) was accused of hitting a student with a corner flag.
“We are currently awaiting a fair legal decision based on the facts,” Son Ung-jung said in a statement, adding that his training methods did not meet standards relating to player welfare.
“I will reflect in atonement for emphasizing my focus by not complying with the limits set by time and changing laws,” he said.
He added that some of the facts reported by witnesses “were not true.”
‘I swear that the coaches at my academy have never taken any action that was not based on love for our young players.
“Much of what the complainant has said is untrue and we are cooperating fully with authorities during the investigation at the academy, without distorting or covering up information.”
Mail Sport has contacted Sun Football Academy for comment.
Son Hyung-min (right) pictured with his father (left) at Gimpo International Airport in South Korea in 2020.
Football coach who is largely credited with nurturing and training Son Heung-min’s generation of talent (pictured)
The football manager is largely credited with helping to nurture and train the talent of Son Heung-min’s generation, who established himself as a global star with 164 goals in 410 appearances for Tottenham.
He also became the first Asian player to win the Premier League Golden Boot in the 2021–22 season, scoring 23 league goals.
The Sons Football Academy, which is located around 80 kilometres northeast of Seoul, opened in 2021 and cost just under £11m to build. atlético.
The facility features about six courts, including a clubhouse, classrooms and a full-size court.
