FIFA to revisit disciplinary case for footballer Park next week

FIFA, the international football governing body, will hold a disciplinary meeting next week to revisit a South Korean player's controversial post-match celebration at the London Olympics, officials here said Tuesday.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) said FIFA has told the Korean governing body that it will convene a disciplinary meeting on Nov. 20 at FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, to discuss the case of Park Jong-woo. The midfielder came under the international spotlight in August in London, following his celebration of South Korea's bronze medal with a placard that read, in Korean, "Dokdo Is Our Territory."

Dokdo refers to a group of South Korea's easternmost islets, to which Japan has also laid territorial claims. Dokdo has been a source of diplomatic tensions between the Northeast Asian neighbors for years.

"In a letter, FIFA informed us that its investigation of Park's case has ended," the KFA said in a statement. "The disciplinary committee will formally discuss the matter."

FIFA had been scheduled to issue a disciplinary ruling on Park on Oct. 5 but postponed that decision. FIFA had said at the time it would discuss Park's case again the following week, but took more than a month to bring the matter back to the table.

In that time, KFA Chairman Cho Chung-yun traveled to Zurich to discuss Park's situation with FIFA officials.

At the London Games, South Korea defeated Japan 2-0 to claim the bronze medal, its first Olympic medal in men's football. Park, however, was barred from attending the medal ceremony and has yet to collect his bronze medal, as FIFA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) deemed his celebratory action political.

The IOC's Olympic Charter prohibits any display of political statements by participating athletes, coaches and even fans.

Korean officials have backed the player, saying Park's action wasn't premeditated and he held up the sign, which was passed to him by a fan in the stands, in the heat of the moment.

The IOC, meanwhile, has signed off on an Olympic medal certificate for Park. Korean officials downplayed the significance of the development, however, saying athletes ordinarily receive such certificates whether or not they have collected physical medals. (Yonhap)