Iranian head coach taunts Korean bench after victory

Two head coaches from S. Korea and Iran, who previously shared a brief history of verbal assaults on each other, couldn’t come to resolve the tension after all.

After the end of a Group A qualifying match between S. Korea and Iran for the 2014 Brazil World Cup held at the Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium on June 18, Iran’s head coach Carlos Queiroz, along with other Iranian coaches, approached the Korean bench.

Typically at such times, coaches from both sides shake hands and exchange some friendly words, but not so with Queiroz.

About 5 meters from the Korean bench, he motioned a gesture of flinging a “potato fist” to the bench where Korean players were waiting for the result of the ongoing match between Uzbekistan and Qatar.

“Some of the players snapped at his gesture and were about to bolt towards Iranian coaching staff but were blocked by the Korean coaching staff,” said a Korean soccer team staff who was present at the scene.

“An inspector from FIFA, who also witnessed the whole scene, showed his intention of making records of the incident in a game report.”

The inspector also criticized Queiroz’s rude behavior, saying “It is just sad that a team with such ethical ineptitude has qualified for the World Cup.”

The tension between S. Korea and Iran initially started out as Korean head coach Choi Kang-hee, during the post-game official interview after its home game against Uzbekistan on June 11, told his experience of poor reception in Iran during the away match last year. The vexed coach then announced “Iran will pay for their inhospitality this time.”

Queiroz retorted after hearing this, saying “Choi must apologize to the people of Iran,” worsening their uncomfortable relationship.

Prior to the match on June 18, a controversial doctored picture was released in which Queiroz was wearing a T-shirt with a print of Choi with an Uzbekistan uniform on.

Queiroz left a congratulatory message to S. Korea during the official interview session after last night’s match, but his rude behavior in front of the Korean bench deeply stigmatized Korean viewers.