Major scandal in South Korean football: sexual services provided to foreign referees revealed
South Korean football in turmoil: Foreign referees allegedly provided sex services.
Another major scandal has erupted in South Korean football. According to local media reports, the Korea Football Association (KFA) may have arranged sex services for some foreign referees who worked in international matches in 2011-2012. The aim was to influence the referees' decisions, it is said.
According to JTBC, the allegations are based on confidential audit documents prepared by the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2016. The report states that KFA officials arranged "massage services" for foreign referees.
A former KFA employee told the TV channel that the association wanted referees to "blow the whistle for their own benefit."
According to Yonhap, referees from Japan, the UAE, Iran, Bahrain and Uzbekistan were involved in the matches. However, it has not yet been confirmed which referees used illegal services.
**KFA already under investigation**
The KFA is also under police investigation over another scandal. It concerns alleged irregularities and nepotism in the appointment of national team coaches following South Korea's failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
On August 6, police raided the KFA headquarters as part of an investigation into the appointment of Hong Myung-bo as head coach in July 2024.
A KFA spokesman said in response to a JTBC inquiry:
"There may have been some unpleasant incidents 15 years ago, but today we are strictly adhering to ethical standards."
He also said that the association only keeps records for five years, so it is not possible to verify past events.
**What did the audit find?**
According to JTBC, a 2016 audit by the ministry found that the KFA hosted foreign referees seven times between March 2011 and March 2012, with 20 referees participating.
The audit was initially launched to investigate whether KFA officials had used corporate bank cards for personal expenses. Although the investigation found that foreign referees had benefited from these expenses, the ministry later closed the case without taking further action.
The cases included the 2014 World Cup qualifiers and the 2012 London Olympics qualifiers.
**Massage parlors in Gangnam**
According to the audit, 500,000 won was paid to two referees at a massage parlor in Gangnam district via the KFA corporate card before the 2-0 win over South Korea in Seoul on February 29, 2012.
The ministry concluded that the payment included sexual services. At the time, some massage parlors were known to provide illegal sexual services for an additional fee.
A former employee of the KFA Referees Department, who gave his name as "Mr. B," said:
"The massage fee included sexual services. It was first requested by the foreign referees themselves."
The former employee, who spoke with his face covered and his voice altered, said referees complain after long flights.
"They would say, 'We've been flying for a long time, we're not feeling well.' And we would try to appease them. After that, they could blow the whistle for us."
However, JTBC noted that it had not independently verified which referees used these services.
**Two more cases**
The audit also found that 760,000 won was paid to a massage parlor in Changwon after the South Korea-Oman match on September 22, 2011. The ministry concluded that the money was used to arrange sexual services for four referees.
Also, 198,000 won was paid to another massage parlor in Gangnam during the South Korea-Qatar (0-0) match on March 14, 2012. This time, the audit said, sexual services were provided to a referee inspector.
**FIFA rules violated**
According to football ethics experts, attempting to influence referees is one of the most serious violations of FIFA's disciplinary code. Match-fixing and corruption are among the most serious ethical violations in football.
South Korean football commentator Park Moon-sung believes that this scandal could cause a huge international resonance.
"This scandal could cause international controversy. Attempting to influence referees is a very serious violation," he said.