Laser on Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in… Seo Gyeong-deok accuses FIFA of having ‘bad manners’ among Chinese spectators

Seo Gyeong-deok, a professor at Sungshin Women’s University, announced that he had reported to FIFA the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) about Chinese spectators engaging in various ‘unmannered’ acts during a soccer match between Korea and China.

On the 24th, Professor Seo said on Facebook, “Booing at the opposing country’s national anthem, laser attacks on key players of the opposing country, and severe swearing at the opposing country’s cheering squad are clear mistakes that violate the ‘spirit of FIFA.’” “This is an absurd situation.” “We decided that this should never be repeated, so we reported it to FIFA,” he said.

At the same time, he requested, “FIFA strongly protests to the Chinese Football Association and hopes that measures will be taken to prevent such incidents from happening again.”

Previously, during the 2026 North, Central America World Cup Asia 2nd qualifying match between Korea and China on the 21st, Chinese spectators booed when the national anthem was played as a national ritual before the start of the game. The Chinese audience booed loudly enough to surpass the sound of Korea’s national anthem.

Also, when Son Heung-min stood to take a penalty kick in the 11th minute of the first half, a Chinese spectator waved a green laser aimed at Son Heung-min’s eyes. Even when Lee Kang-in prepared to take a free kick, lasers were fired around his face, eyes, neck, and shoulders.

Chinese spectators fought and made noise in various places. Among the Chinese spectators on this day, there were several fans wearing Tottenham uniforms with Son Heung-min’s number 7 written on them, and the Chinese spectators threw water bottles at them, swore at them, and used physical force to force them out.

Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in did not pay much attention to the interference of the Chinese spectators and played the game, ignoring the checks. Heung-min recorded two goals and one assist, and Lee Kang-in delivered the cross that led to Son Heung-min’s second goal, leading the team to a 3-0 victory. Lee Kang-in, who met with reporters after the game, said, “There was no problem at all.”

Park Tae-geun, Donga.com reporter ptk@donga.com