By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
North Korea has suggested its World Cup qualifier against South Korea be held either on Jeju Island or out of South Korean territory.
The South's Korea Football Association (KFA) had a meeting with its North counterpart in Gaeseong Tuesday, and the North side asked the KFA to host their match, scheduled for June 22 at Seoul World Cup Stadium, in another country due to a cold relationship between the two sides and ongoing rallies in Seoul.
The two Koreas played their first meeting in Shanghai, China, on March 26. That match was supposed to be held in Pyongyang, but North Korea refused to allow South Korean cheering squads to display their flag and play their national anthem at Kim Il-sung Stadium, which forced the KFA to submit the matter to FIFA for arbitration.
The North Korea Football Association also asked Mohamed bin Hammam, the president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), last month to change the site of the June 22 match.
However, FIFA, which has already selected referees and match supervisors, ignored the North's pleas, and the KFA also stated that it would stick with the original schedule.
South Korea's action compelled the North to propose Jeju Island, where the North's under-17 squad participated in the U-17 World Cup last year, as an alternative. But the original plans were not changed.
North Korea, which ranks second in Group 3 and can clinch a berth in the final qualifying round with a win over Jordan Saturday, said it would soon make a decision on what it will do if the location of the game is not changed.
Should the 118th-ranked North squad boycott the match, FIFA would fine it about $37,000 and force it to pay for the 35,000 tickets that have been sold thus far.
FIFA can impose additional punishments, such as international game suspensions, which means the North might not advance to the World Cup even if it reaches the qualifying standards to play in South Africa.
``Although North Korea insists on hosting a Seoul match in another place, it will not be able to boycott the game in consideration of FIFA's penalties,'' a person at the KFA said.
Manager Huh Jung-moo's South Korean team, which edged Jordan 1-0 last week to regain the top spot in its qualifying group ahead of North Korea by goal difference, will face Turkmenistan Saturday on the road.
Should the Taeguk Warriors defeat the opponents, whom they routed 4-0 in February, they can reach the final round.
ksw@koreatimes.co.kr
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