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.
Juventus had agreed with match promoters The Fasta that their record signing would attend the fan meeting and play for at least 45 minutes of the friendly at Seoul’s World Cup Stadium but he fulfilled neither obligation.
The Portugal captain opted to miss the fan signing session to “prepare for the game” before refusing to play the game because of “muscle fatigue”, according to South Korea football journalist Steve Han.
South Korean fans have not held back on social media with many telling the club to stay away in the future, with many pledging their allegiance to Ronaldo’s long-time Ballon d’Or rival Lionel Messi. Fans in the stadium chanted Messi’s name during Friday’s game.
Some 2,000 fans are suing the match promoters, according to a statement from law firm Myungan on Monday. The K League has also sent a letter of protest to Juventus, according to Yonhap News Agency.
In contrast to his time in South Korea, Ronaldo had played during the team’s previous game against Inter Milan in Nanjing, scoring the equaliser. He tweeted that it was “Always a pleasure to see you China” after leaving. The player has made annual tours to China over the last three years, even if his club has not.
Friday’s game was eventually drawn 3-3.
