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S. Korean footballer banned in China cleared to play elsewhere following FIFA decision
South Korean football player Son Jun-ho, banned for life in China over match-fixing charges, has been cleared to play elsewhere by FIFA, the national football federation here said Friday.
According to the Korea Football Association (KFA), FIFA’s disciplinary committee recently dismissed a request by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) to apply its ban on Son to the rest of the world, a move that would have ended Son’s career.
The KFA said FIFA informed the South Korean body of that decision earlier Friday.
“With this, the ban on Son is only applicable in China. The path is now open for Son to sign with a team in South Korea’s K League or anywhere in the world other than China,” the KFA said in a statement.
Son, the 2020 K League 1 MVP for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, played for Shandong Taishan FC in China from 2021 to 2023.
In May 2023, Son was detained by Chinese authorities over bribery allegations and was released in March 2024. He then signed for the K League 1 club Suwon FC three months later.
In September, the CFA slapped Son with a lifetime ban, leading Suwon FC to terminate their deal with the midfielder. Son claimed his innocence at a press conference and said Chinese officials blackmailed him into admitting to bogus bribery charges.
Son admitted he once took 200,000 yuan (US$27,610) from a Shandong teammate, a few days after a January 2023 match that police claimed was fixed, but Son, 32, couldn’t remember the exact circumstances of that transaction.