Time now for This Week in Sports and joining us in the studio is our sports editor Paul Neat.
Paul, there has been a bit of news lately regarding the Korean National Football Team - a friendly with Japan and now a centralized venue for the delayed World Cup qualifiers. What can you tell us? Yes, that’s right. The KFA confirmed at the end of last week that the Korean National Team will be facing Japan away in a friendly on March 25th. The squad was announced on Monday… subject to injury… Son Heung-min is included, as is Hwang Hee-chan but no players have been selected from K League champions Jeonbuk.
Expel school violence
Olympic medals no longer enhance national prestige
Allegations of school violence involving professional volleyball players have shaken the world of sports. On Monday, the Korean Volleyball Association indefinitely banned Lee Jae-young and Lee Da-young, the star twins of the Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders, from the national volleyball team. The Pink Spiders also indefinitely suspended the two, stating, School violence is something that should never happen..
The bullying scandal came to light Feb. 10 when a former teammate of the twins in middle school complained online about being bullied. The post listed 21 allegations including the theft of money and threats with a knife against a teammate. The accusations prompted a national uproar, causing a petition to be posted on the presidential website demanding an investigation into the allegations. Later, the twins offered an apology.
February 16, 2021
South Korean women volleyball twin stars Lee Jae-yeong, left, and Lee Da-yeong of the Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders. The two were suspended from the national team over allegations of school bullying.
Facebook/ Lee da yeong Lee jae yeong Fanclub
The twin volleyball stars on South Korea’s national women’s team were dismissed from the squad on Monday (Feb 15) after they both owned up to their bullying pasts, despite the fact that both had played key roles in helping the team win a berth at the Tokyo Olympics .
Lee Jae-yeong, 25, and her twin sister Lee Da-yeong, who both play for the Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders in South Korea’s domestic V-League, admitted to bullying their teammates 10 years earlier in middle school and apologised to the unidentified victims. The Pink Spiders also suspended the twins.