The Korea Football Association issued an official position on the ‘personal trainer controversy’ that occurred immediately after advancing to the round of 16 in the Qatar World Cup and revealed that there was a conflict between some players and the association.

On the 10th, the Korea Football Association (KFA) released a statement on its homepage regarding the raising of the problem by Ahn Deok-soo, personal rehabilitation trainer for national team captain Son Heung-min (31, Tottenham Hotspur). Through a long statement, the association said that “there were some shortcomings” in the relationship between Ahn, the athletes, and the medical team, but “the players also have regrets.”

Previously, after the FIFA 2022 Qatar World Cup round of 16 between Korea and Brazil on the 7th of last month, Ahn said through his SNS, “(National team accommodation) a lot happened in room 2701,” and “I am reflecting on this incident. The future of Korean football will only exist when we do and improve it,” he criticized the Korea Football Association. As Son Heung-min’s personal trainer, Ahn took care of some of the national team players, including Son Heung-min. He suddenly became silent after the first exposure, and the post was deleted.

In a statement, the Football Association said, “In November 2021 and in June of last year, some players requested that Trainer Ahn join the association’s medical staff on two occasions. The association told the players to go through the formal application process, but Trainer Ahn did not apply.” The Football Association also said, “According to the relevant laws that came into effect in February 2021, only those with specific licenses could be hired, but Ahn confirmed that there were not some of them.” In the end, Mr. Ahn went to Qatar with two fellow trainers as an ‘external trainer’, and the association allowed players to receive treatment from Mr. Ahn if they wanted. About 10 national team players received treatment from Mr. Ahn and others.

In its position statement, the Korea Football Association pointed out, “Two days before the match against Uruguay in the first game, several players suddenly demanded that the medical team leader of the association be excluded from work and return home.” did. Along with this, he said, “It was not thoughtful to make inappropriate remarks toward duty staff and employees, although only a small part.” As the conflict between the players and the medical team increased during the World Cup, the association took measures to stop the medical team leader’s treatment activities. 토토

The Korea Football Association pointed out, “We are well aware of the fact that Mr. Ahn, who was trusted by the players, worked hard.” Along with this, he reflected, “If it is an issue that the players have requested for a long time, we should have listened to it and come up with an alternative solution to solve the problem.”

Along with this, the Football Association said, “We will prepare alternatives for how to explain the relationship between official duty staff and personal trainers and how to create a cooperative relationship.”