Cristiano Ronaldo’s Seoul no-show to cost Juventus US$675,000 says South Korean media, as fan backlash continues
- Italian giants to take hit from US$3 million fee as Korean fans tell them to stay away in the future
- K League has sent a letter of protest to Serie A champions after they kept sell-out crowd waiting for an hour
Cristiano Ronaldo’s refusal to play against the K League All Stars in Seoul last Friday will cost his club Juventus US$675,000 of their almost US$3 million match fee, according to reports.
South Korean media outlet MBC has said this will be the sum docked from the Italian champions after their star player apparently refused to play in the friendly.
Further reports suggested that Ronaldo’s failure to feature in the game, as had been stipulated in the contract, was one of several missteps made by the Italian giants in their few hours in the country during a whistle-stop Asia tour visit.
Twitter account Korea Football News claimed the Serie A title holders only arrived in South Korea five hours before the scheduled kick-off and then arrived at the stadium after the game should have started, forcing a delay of almost an hour for the nearly 65,000 fans in the sell-out crowd and their hosts.
Furthermore, it was alleged that Ronaldo failed to attend a fan meeting, another of his contractual commitments for the visit.
The Italian giants are now facing a huge backlash from South Korean fans after their behaviour.