Suwon, South Korea:
Son Jun-ho, a player for South Korea’s World Cup team, broke down in tears on Wednesday after denying match-fixing and accusing China of blackmailing him after he was banned for life.
Sun, who played for Shandong Taishan in the Chinese Super League, was accused by the Chinese Football Association of participating in match-fixing and was detained for 10 months last year.
The midfielder, who appeared in three of South Korea’s four matches at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, returned to South Korea in March after being detained in May 2023.
But he was one of 43 people banned for life by Chinese authorities this week over allegations of gambling and match-fixing.
A crying and visibly emotional Son told reporters that his arrest had come as an “overwhelming shock.”
He said he was threatened by Chinese police to use his family, including his children, as a bargaining chip to force him to confess to the charges against him.
He added, “The Chinese police made ridiculous accusations.”
He added: “They threatened that if I did not confess to the charges against him, my wife would be arrested through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and brought to the same detention center for investigation as me.”
He said he did not receive adequate Korean translation and was unable to contact a lawyer, and when he realized that the Chinese police were accusing him of bribery, he “was stunned.”
“I said I had never done anything like that,” the 32-year-old said, constantly having to stop talking to wipe away his tears.
Sun was detained “on suspicion of accepting bribes from non-government officials” without providing details, and said his family had been used to extract confessions.
“While they were showing me pictures of my daughter and son on my phone, they pressed me, saying: ‘What did the children do to deserve this?'” Son told reporters.
“If your wife comes here too, how will your children manage? Don’t you think your children want to see their father? So admit it quickly.”
He said Chinese police offered him a deal, telling him that if he admitted his guilt he would be released quickly.
“I felt afraid and worried about my family, and I had no choice but to confess to accusations I didn’t even understand, just to get back to my family quickly,” he said.
He said Chinese police should release audio files of his interrogation to show “how they forced me to confess.”
“I want to clear my name with absolute transparency. The only evidence they had was my false confession, obtained through the extreme pressure of early interrogation techniques.”
Under President Xi Jinping, Beijing has deepened its campaign against corruption in Chinese sports in recent years, especially football, and has imprisoned several senior officials.
Xi admits he is a soccer fanatic and said he dreams of China hosting and winning the World Cup.
But this ambition seems further away than ever after repeated corruption scandals and years of disappointing results on the pitch.
After his return, Son joined South Korea’s fifth-tier league before moving to Super League side Suwon FC in June. Son was not selected in the national team’s squad for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers last week due to the “danger” associated with the Chinese allegations, national team coach Hong Myung-bo said when he announced the squad last month.