The professional soccer K League 1 Incheon United has taken strong preemptive measures in connection with the water bottle incident.
Incheon said on the club’s official channel on the 13th, “There was a safety accident in which a water bottle was thrown into the stadium immediately after the end of the home game against FC Seoul on the 11th,” adding, “Our club, which is fully responsible for the home game, once again sincerely apologizes to the away team, Seoul players, officials and fans.”
“In addition, we apologize once again for causing great concern to Incheon citizens and club fans,” he said. “In order to find out the facts about the accident and prevent a recurrence, our club will immediately implement the following follow-up measures, and we inform you that there will be no tolerance and exceptions for the measure.”
As a follow-up measure, Incheon decided to close all seats for home games. The closing of cheering seats will be applied first in the match against Gwangju FC on the 25th and the match against Ulsan HD on the 29th. It also announced the strengthening of rules for bringing in remaining home games during the 2024 season. It stipulated that the bottle cap should be removed when bringing in plastic bottles and cans.
In addition, the Incheon club receives voluntary reports from those who threw water bottles against Seoul.
Incheon announced, “If we voluntarily report, we will be excluded from the club’s civil and criminal legal measures in the future and will apply only the club’s own disciplinary action,” adding, “If we do not report voluntarily, we will file a complaint with the competent police station by combining all evidence (photographs, videos, testimony, etc.) and at the same time seek financial compensation for all financial damages of the club for this accident.”
The water bottle incident occurred shortly after the match between Incheon and Seoul held at the Incheon Football Stadium on the 11th. At that time, Seoul beat Incheon 2-1, and a water bottle flew into the ground from the supporters’ seat when Seoul’s gatekeeper Baek Jong-beom roared toward Incheon supporters shortly after the end of the game.
Some water bottles contained water, and Seoul Ki Sung-yueng was hit in the vital part. At that time, even Incheon players beckoned their fans not to throw water bottles, but water bottles flew over the ground for a long time.
People around the world demanded stern punishment. “We cannot tolerate using violence against players on the ground,” said Kim Hoon-ki, secretary-general of the Korea Professional Football Association. “In which company in the world is an office worker being abused in the workplace? Moreover, Ki Sung-yueng (Seoul) was hit by a water bottle thrown at him. This is a very serious situation,” he said. “The match between Incheon and Seoul is the same as what was reported in the FIFPRO report. This can be seen as an act of bullying players. Cooperation between the Fédération Internationale de Football Association and the club is needed to deal with verbal abuse against players and physical violence against spectators including malicious commenters. Everyone should make efforts to play soccer in a safe environment.”
The Professional Football Federation is expected to decide whether to hold a reward and punishment committee through a match evaluation meeting and then review whether to discipline the Incheon club.
BY: 토토사이트