South Korea’s under-18 football team has apologized to 「all the people of China」 after they defeated a Chinese squad and celebrated by sticking their foot on the Panda Cup.
The Panda Cup is an annual youth football tournament in the city of Chengdu. South Korea emerged victorious on Wednesday in the event, defeating China 3-0. After the win, one of the Korean footballers was photographed putting his foot up on the trophy with a wide grin.
Moreover, the photographer said that one of the Korean teens pretended to urinate in the cup before being stopped by teammates.
Afterward, the organizing committee of the Panda Cup, along with the Chengdu Football Association, accused the Korean team of 「a serious insult」 and demanded an immediate apology.
In no time, the coaches and players and gathered in their hotel to do just that. 「First of all, we apologize for the situation, one of our players made a huge mistake,」 the head coach said, reaching from a prepared statement in English.
「We are really sorry for the mistake again and we humbly apologize to all the fans, all the players and also all the people in China. We hope to keep a good relationship with the CFA (Chinese Football Association) and KFA (Korea Football Association),」 he continued.
The team then apologized again with a series of bows.