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Mon, June 5, 2023 | 23:30
Football Inside
FIFA President 'disappointed' with absence of fans at inter-Korean match
인판티노 FIFA 회장 "남북축구 '무관중' 경기 실망스러워"
Posted : 2019-10-18 11:00
Updated : 2019-10-28 17:33
Hong Ji-min
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino, left, shakes hands with Kim Jang San, right, secretary general of North Korean Football Association, upon his arrival at Pyongyang international airport in Pyongyang on October 15, 2019. /AFP
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, left, shakes hands with Kim Jang San, right, secretary general of North Korean Football Association, upon his arrival at Pyongyang international airport in Pyongyang on October 15, 2019. /AFP

FIFA President Gianni Infantino traveled to Pyongyang this week hoping to see a packed house for a monumental inter-Korean match in the World Cup qualifying campaign.

지아니 인판티노 FIFA 회장이 월드컵 예선전에서 펼쳐진 기념비적인 남북 축구 경기를 보려고 몰린 만원 관중을 보고자 이번 주 평양을 방문했다.


He came away, in his own words, "disappointed" that there were no spectators.

하지만 인판티노 회장은 무관중 경기가 열린 것에 대해 "실망스럽다"고 표현했다.


South Korea and North Korea played a scoreless draw before empty seats at Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang on Tuesday, as part of the second round of the Asian qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It was the first competitive match in Pyongyang between the Koreas and their first meeting in the North Korean capital since a friendly in 1990.

화요일, 한국과 북한은 평양 김일성 경기장에서 열린 2022 FIFA 월드컵 아시아 지역 예선 2차전에서 무관중 경기를 치렀고, 0-0 무승부를 기록했다. 이번 경기는 1990년 친선경기 이후 평양에서 열린 첫 경기였다.


Though the match was expected to draw up to 40,000 fans, North Korea, for reasons yet unknown, kept the doors shut to the public. There was also no live broadcast of the match in South Korea, and North Korea didn't authorize trips by South Korean journalists. Only Infantino and a few other football officials and foreign diplomats were on hand, and non-Korean foreign journalists were also denied access.

최대 4만 명의 팬이 몰릴 것으로 예상됐지만, 북한은 알려지지 않은 이유로 관중들의 입장을 불허했다. 북한은 한국 기자들의 방문을 허가하지 않았고, 한국에서도 이 경기가 생중계되지 않았다. 인판티노 회장을 비롯한 몇몇 축구 관계자와 북한 주재 외교관들만이 경기를 볼 수 있었고, 외신 기자들도 접근을 거부당했다.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, left, shakes hands with Kim Jang San, right, secretary general of North Korean Football Association, upon his arrival at Pyongyang international airport in Pyongyang on October 15, 2019. /AFP
This was the first competitive men's football match between the two Koreas held in Pyongyang. Yevgeny Kravchenko/Russian Embassy in North Korea/TASS


"I was looking forward to seeing a full stadium for such a historic match but was disappointed to see there were no fans in the stands," Infantino told FIFA.com. "We were surprised by this and by several issues related to its live broadcast and problems with visas and access for foreign journalists. For us, freedom of the press and freedom of speech are obviously paramount, but on the other hand it would be naive to think we can change the world from one minute to the next."

인판티노 회장은 FIFA.com에 "역사적인 경기를 위해 경기장이 가득 차기를 기대했지만, 관중석에 팬이 없어 실망스러웠다"라고 말하며 "우리는 무관중 경기뿐만 아니라 생방송, 외신기자들의 비자 및 취재 불허 문제로 인해 놀랐다. 우리에게 언론의 자유와 표현의 자유는 분명히 가장 중요한 것이지만, 한편으로는 우리가 세상을 1분 만에 바꿀 수 있다고 생각하는 것은 순진한 생각"이라고 솔직한 심정을 밝혔다.


Infantino added: "We will certainly keep pushing so that football can have a positive influence in Korea DPR (North Korea) and other countries around the world." (Yonhap)

이어 "우리는 축구가 북한과 세계의 여러 나라에서 긍정적인 영향을 미칠 수 있게 계속 노력할 것"이라고 그는 덧붙였다.


FIFA President Gianni Infantino, left, shakes hands with Kim Jang San, right, secretary general of North Korean Football Association, upon his arrival at Pyongyang international airport in Pyongyang on October 15, 2019. /AFP
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, center, arrives at the Pyongyang Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019. /AP
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