Noise is being made about the canceled friendly match between Napoli (Italy), where Kim Min-jae plays, and Mallorca (Spain), where Lee Kang-in plays.
According to the Korea Football Association (KFA), on the 26th, the federation received a lawsuit in the name of the consortium organizers StadiumX (STX) and Untouchable Sports Group (USG), which promoted the two teams’ visit to Korea, stating that the friendly match between the two teams was unfairly canceled and that they should be compensated for the damage caused.
Accordingly, the KFA is preparing for the possibility of receiving a notice from the court at a later date.
On June 25, the KFA finally informed the consortium that was organizing the friendly match between the two teams that 스포츠토토 it would not be allowed to hold the match. The two matches were scheduled to take place on June 8 at Seoul World Cup Stadium and June 10 at Goyang Sports Complex.
The matches were expected to be highly anticipated by fans as they would be the last time Kim Min-jae and Lee Kang-in would play in their respective clubs’ jerseys. It was also interesting to note that Kim Min-jae and Lee Kang-in were going head-to-head.
However, on June 10, the Korean Professional Football Association (KPA) was unable to give its consent because there were six K League games (three K League 1 and three K League 2) on the same day. The KFA approves invitational matches for foreign teams, but the federation’s consent is required.
On June 8, the KFA asked the consortium if they wanted to hold any of the matches. At the same time, the KFA also wanted to check the financial status of the consortium to see if they could afford to host a foreign team to avoid an event like Cristiano Ronaldo’s no-show.
In the end, the consortium failed to meet the conditions set by the KFA, and the KFA decided and informed the consortium that both Napoli and Mallorca would not be allowed to play. The consortium is now seeking a court ruling on the unfairness of the decision.
The decision is expected to put a lot of pressure on the consortium, which has scheduled three preseason matches in late July with Hwang Hee-chan’s Wolverhampton (England), Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma (Italy) and Oh Hyun-gyu’s Celtic.
Wolverhampton and Celtic will meet at the Suwon World Cup Stadium on July 26, Wolverhampton and AS Roma will meet at the Incheon Asiad Stadium on July 29, and Roma and Incheon United will meet at the Incheon Asiad Stadium on August 1.
The KFA’s decision is expected to have an adverse impact on the partnerships and sponsorships that have been established for the Napoli and Mallorca friendlies. The consortium said, “The KFA’s decision will cause a lot of damage. We have recruited staff and received investments both domestically and internationally, but this is inevitably going to be disrupted.”
For now, the KFA has decided to keep the Wolverhampton and AS Roma visits separate from the Napoli-Majorca match. This means that if the consortium meets the requirements for approval, it will be reviewed.
A representative of the current consortium told OSEN: “For the June 8 game, there is still room for negotiation. We are willing to talk to the federation and resolve it.” However, if the consortium goes to court, it is doubtful that the two sides will be able to meet and come to an agreement.