Park Jin-seop (Jeonbuk Hyundai), the ‘eldest’ member of the Asian Games squad, revealed that the ‘card laundering’ against Thailand was “planned in advance.”
Head coach Hwang Sun-hong’s men’s football team cruised to a 4-0 victory over Thailand in their second Group E match of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games at the Jinhua Sports Center Stadium in Jinhua, China on Monday (June 21), thanks to relay goals from Hong Hyun-seok (KAA Hent), Ahn Jae-joon (Bucheon), Uhm Won-sang (Ulsan Hyundai) and Lee Jae-ik (Seoul Eland). The team, which topped Group E with a convincing 9-0 victory over Kuwait in their first match, secured a spot in the Round of 16 with the win over Thailand as Kuwait and Bahrain ended 1-1 earlier in the day.
With only one day of rest since the Kuwait game, the team made five changes to the starting lineup from the Kuwait game. Hat-trick scorer Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart), multi-goal hero Cho Young-wook (Gimcheon Sangmu), midfielder Jung Ho-yeon (Gwangju), left-back Park Kyu-hyun (Dynamo Dresden), and center-back Lee Han-beom (Mitwillan) dropped to the bench.
Park Jin-seop, who partnered with Lee in the first leg, started as usual and remained at the center of the defense. Before being substituted in the 10th minute of the second half, he and Lee Jae-ik shut down the Thai attack to secure a clean sheet.
There was also a moment that caught the eye during the match. He was cautioned for delay of game behavior during a corner kick early in the second half. He had already received one warning in the first game and it was not the right time to stall, so it was obviously a deliberate attempt to ‘wash’ his card.
According to the Asian Games rules, if a player accumulates two yellow cards, he will not be allowed to play in the next game. With a 4-0 lead and a strong chance of clinching first place in the group, Park chose to miss the third game and enter the tournament without a caution rather than risk a red card.
Speaking to reporters in the post-match mix zone, Park readily admitted that the time delay was a card laundering scheme.
“The purpose was to get rid of the warning quickly before the main tournament. It was actually a scenario that was being prepared,” he said, revealing that it was a pre-planned play.
“I was so awkward, I said I was too scared out there, but it’s been six years since I’ve been a corner kicker. It was so awkward,” he said, adding, “Each player on the bench said, ‘Why can’t you play like this? Even Lee Kang-in, who was watching from the stands, said, ‘You’re so bad. I need to practice acting,'” he added.
He even admitted that he was worried that the referee wouldn’t pull out his card. “I thought, ‘Should I kick it or not? Normally, in the K League, the referee would give a warning right away, but today, the referee didn’t give a warning again,” he said, adding that he almost didn’t get a card because of the referee’s lenient tendencies, unlike the K League.카지노
Card laundering can be controversial depending on the viewer. In the past, Sergio Ramos, who plays for Real Madrid in Spain, has been criticized for card laundering in the UEFA Champions League.
However, Park explained that he did it all for the good of the team. “Rather than thinking about the controversy, we were in a situation where we had to prepare due to the composition of our team, and if we went to the tournament with a card and couldn’t play, that would also cause damage to the team,” he said.
“I try to say as little as possible and open my wallet,” he said of his role as the ‘eldest brother’ after being selected as a wildcard for the tournament, adding, “Seung-ho Baek, the captain, is doing a good job in the middle, so I help him a little bit on the side depending on what he does. There are so many good players, so I only talk to them briefly before the game and try to smile and get along with them during the day.”