‘Thinking about how scared my son must have been makes me angry’ – Son Heung-min’s father in camp abuse scandal

The academy is attended by hundreds of South Korean children who dream of following in the footsteps of Asia’s biggest football star.

Son’s father, former professional player Son Woong-jung, is the director of the academy in Chuncheon, 80 km east of the capital Seoul.

He denied the accusations made against him and two of his coaches.

Today’s Sports News in 90 Seconds – July 2

The parents of the young player reported that their son was hit by the coach with a flag in the corner of the pitch and was also the victim of verbal abuse.

“Thinking about how scared my son must have been makes me angry,” the player’s father told South Korean news agency Yonhap. “I decided to report the matter to the police because I didn’t want to see another case like this.”

Son Woong-jung apologized but denied accusations of abuse.

“I swear that the coaches at my academy have never taken any action that was not based on love for our young players,” Son said.

“Much of what the plaintiff said is not true. We at the academy are cooperating fully with the authorities in their investigation, not distorting or concealing the facts.”

Son promised to evaluate his coaching methods.

“I admit I have stuck to my own paths, not recognizing the standards set by changing times,” he said. “I will look for other ways to help young athletes stay focused on the field and committed to training.”

The academy opened in 2021, with most of its estimated $15 million cost funded by Son Heung-min, the popular captain of Tottenham Hotspur. His team’s July 31 exhibition match against a local team in Seoul quickly sold out all 66,000 tickets last week.

This is not the first time in South Korea that coaches have been accused of physically abusing athletes.

In 2020, triathlete Choi Suk-hyeon committed suicide after complaining to sports authorities that she had been physically and verbally tortured by coaches for years. A year earlier, speed skaters accused their coach of physical and sexual abuse.

In his 2006 autobiography, former South Korea captain and Manchester United star Park Ji-sung described the physical beatings he suffered as a teenager at the hands of older players at school.