Allegations of sexual services involving foreign referees from the Korea Football Association have expanded to the Japanese football community. The Japan Football Association (JFA) has initiated an investigation into its referees who were assigned to international matches held in South Korea.
According to reports from local Japanese media, including Kyodo News and Tokyo Shimbun, the JFA is currently investigating four Japanese referees who officiated during national team matches in South Korea.
This investigation by the JFA is reportedly a response to allegations revealed in a 2016 audit report from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of South Korea, as well as materials from Democratic Party lawmaker Jin Sun-mi's office.
The documents indicate that between March 2011 and March 2012, the Korea Football Association provided sexual services to over ten foreign referees and match officials during seven FIFA World Cup and Olympic qualifying matches and friendlies held in South Korea.
The services were reportedly conducted at massage parlors located in Seoul's Gangnam district, Changwon in Gyeongnam, and Ulsan, with payments made using the Korea Football Association's corporate credit card, amounting to hundreds of thousands to over one million won on multiple occasions.
The referees under investigation were assigned to the third qualifying match for the 2014 Brazil World Cup against Kuwait in 2012.
On August 9, Kyodo News reported, "It has been revealed through South Korean media that two of the four Japanese referees received sexual services from the Korea Football Association. An official announcement will be made following the investigation results."
Many of the referees mentioned have already retired, but some are currently in key positions within the JFA, overseeing referees in Japan's professional J-League.
Japanese media outlets are extensively covering the issue. Local broadcasters such as FNN and TV Asahi have cited the Ministry of Culture's audit findings, reporting on the inappropriate services and the performance records of the South Korean national team during that period.
Additionally, Japanese media have criticized the allegations of referee sexual services as actions that undermine fairness and ethics in sports, raising suspicions that such misconduct may have been habitual since the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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