"I Kang-in's Disrespectful Words to Son Heung-min...
He No Longer Felt They Were 'Together'"
Former South Korea national football team coach J?rgen Klinsmann spoke out about the so-called 'Table Tennis Gate' that occurred during the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup.
On the 22nd (local time), Klinsmann appeared on the Austrian Serbus TV sports talk show and described the situation, saying, "Young player Lee Kang-in, who plays in Paris, spoke disrespectfully to the older player Son (Heung-min), the captain of Tottenham Hotspur." He added, "Holding that grudge, the two got into a fight. The young player dislocated Son Heung-min's finger." He recalled, "Several people intervened to stop it, and then they separated," and "They talked again the next day, but everyone was shocked and mentally drained, and at that moment, it no longer felt like being 'together.'"
Klinsmann also explained, "I learned Korean for two years, so I could read some words, but I couldn't understand what was happening among the players," and "In Korean culture, I learned that even if someone is wrong, the older person is always right." He said with a wry smile, "But in Korean culture, someone had to take responsibility. Since the players had to participate in the next tournament, it was the coach's turn."
Klinsmann claimed that although they lost in the semifinals the day after the physical altercation, it was the best result South Korea had achieved in the Asian Cup in 15 years. He described his time with the national team as "fantastic," and confessed, "The team (South Korea) had everything needed to advance to the World Cup quarterfinals. That's why I wanted to continue this work."
This is the first time Klinsmann has made a specific statement since being dismissed as coach. Earlier, it was revealed that there was a dispute between South Korea team captain Son Heung-min and young player Lee Kang-in ahead of the Asian Cup semifinals, during which Son Heung-min's finger was dislocated, causing controversy. Klinsmann faced criticism for failing to control such internal team conflicts. Klinsmann was also dismissed during his contract period while coaching the United States national team in 2016.
Klinsmann, whose annual salary was reported to be 2 million euros (approximately 2.9 billion KRW), had a contract through the 2026 North and Central America World Cup finals, so the Korea Football Association must pay over 7 billion KRW in remaining salary and other costs. Including the salaries of foreign coaches on the national team, the estimated penalty could exceed 10 billion KRW. Klinsmann resumed official activities about a month after his dismissal by joining the expert panel of the American sports media outlet ESPN.
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