Something is wrong. ‘Golden Boy’ Lee Kang-in’s new club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is planning to play a friendly match against Jeonbuk Hyundai in Busan.
온라인카지노Lee Kang-in signed a five-year contract with PSG, a prestigious French club in Ligue 1, on the 9th of this month, until 2028. The next day, on the 10th, it was reported that PSG will visit Korea and play a friendly match with the K League 1 Jeonbuk Hyundai on the 3rd of next month at the Busan Asiad Stadium.
The friendly was organised as part of OTT company Coupang Play’s invitation series for European teams. Coupang Play announced that it will host a match between Atletico Madrid (Spain) and ‘Team K League’ on the 27th and a match between Manchester City (England) and Atletico Madrid on the 30th at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. PSG and Jeonbuk are scheduled to play on the 3rd.
It’s a welcome move for Lee to showcase his talents in front of Korean fans just a month after donning the PSG jersey. Lee has yet to play for a professional team in South Korea.
However, the venue of the match is controversial. The Busan Asiad Stadium is technically the home of Busan I-Park, so why is it in Busan and not Jeonju?
The city of Busan said that the bid has not yet been finalised. An official from the Busan City Culture and Sports Bureau said, “The hosting of PSG and Jeonbuk at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium has not yet been confirmed. The city has sought co-operation from the Busan I-Park owners,” he said, adding, “I don’t know why the media made it seem like the venue was finalised.”
Busan I-Park is confused by the city’s sudden request for a home stadium. “We were contacted by Coupang Play two weeks ago, and we received a request for cooperation from Busan City last Friday (7th),” said an official from Busan I-Park. “We respect Busan City’s stance that it will help promote the 2030 World Expo Busan bid, but we are honestly confused every time we are asked to use the stadium.”
The reason why Busan IPark is in trouble is because similar cases have been repeated. Last year, Busan I-Park lost the main stadium to BTS and played its home games at the secondary stadium for the ASEAN Games, and there are plans to hold concerts and events in the second half of this year, so it will have to give up its home stadium.
Furthermore, the players and fans of the PSG Busan game have been hurt by the fact that another team is playing the game without the home team, Busan I-Park.
Busan IPark is in third place in the K League 2 this season (34-9 wins, 7 draws and 3 losses) and is fighting for promotion to the K League 1. The team said that even though they are in the second division, bringing Jeonbuk, a team in the first division, to play against them is demoralising.
Fans who support Busan IPark also expressed their negative opinions about bringing PSG and Jeonbuk to Busan. ‘P.O.P’, the official supporters of Busan IPark, criticised the city’s stance on the match, saying it was a decision that lost both rationale and practicality.
P.O.P Chairman Moon Dae-joon strongly criticised the city’s decision, saying, “Busan’s decision is a decision without consideration and respect for the affiliated clubs.” “It is disrespectful to local teams and fans to give up the IPark home stadium to a sporting event organised by a private company, and even more so to a team that is not a Busan club,” Moon said.
P.O.P members also announced their intention to take collective action, including one-man protests, if the PSG-North Korea match is forced through. “If the city of Busan holds the PSG-North Korea match at the Asiad main stadium, we will launch a one-man protest to criticise the city’s sports administration,” Moon said.
The city of Busan has taken a step back, seemingly conscious of the criticism of its lack of consideration for local professional teams. Kim Ki-hwan, Director of Culture and Sports in Busan, said, “We are not unilaterally forcing the stadium. The city respects Busan IPark’s decision to the fullest,” said Kim. “If Busan I-Park is unwilling to rent the stadium, there is no need to host the PSG match,” Kim continued.