Son Heung-min injured finger in South Korea fight at Asian Cup, as ping pong diplomacy fails
- Row between South Korea players at the Asian Cup left Son nursing a dislocated digit, Korea Football Association official says
- Son said to have complained when teammates ate dinner quickly so they could scoot off to play table tennis on the eve of their shock semi-final exit
The team that eats together, stays together, or so the adage suggests.
Ping pong diplomacy, meanwhile, passed into legend as having helped to end the Cold War.
But try telling that to South Korean footballer Son Heung-min, who reportedly dislocated a finger in an altercation with teammates about table tennis and dining etiquette during the recent AFC Asian Cup.
Son was seen with his fingers taped when he returned to club action with Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League at the weekend.
Younger members of the South Korea squad ate their supper quickly so that they could crack on with a game of table tennis, a Korea Football Association official told Yonhap news agency. The players included Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain.
The official said that Son, the captain, objected, reasoning that team meals were a ritual that bred togetherness. An argument escalated and Son grabbed Lee, who then tried to punch him, Yonhap reported. Son’s digit emerged from the melee badly bruised.
“The row erupted from nowhere,” a source was quoted as saying by UK newspaper The Sun. “A few of the younger players ate very quickly and left the rest of the squad to play ping pong.
“Son asked them to come back and sit down when some disrespectful things were said to him.
“Within seconds the row spilled into the dining area and players were being pulled apart. Son badly injured his finger trying to calm everyone down.”
Lee acknowledged the incident on his Instagram account in a post on Wednesday and apologised for “disappointing” his fans.
“I caused huge disappointment to football fans who always support our national team,” he said, adding: “I’m very sorry.”
“From now on, I will try to help out the older players and try to become a better player and a better person,” Lee said.
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A bigger ball refused to move as the Koreans wished, though, following Son’s invitation for colleagues to return to the dining rather than negotiating table.
Their listless performance in the semi-final suggested some of the players might have been happier with bats in their hands.
It is 53 years since ping pong diplomacy’s greatest success, and 64 since the Koreans’ last Asian Cup triumph.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
