Will the Football Association hide behind 'again'

Hwang Sun-hong, interim coach of the national soccer team, is considering whether to select Lee Kang-in. Considering the weight of the national team, the selection is natural, but the aftermath of the conflict with captain Son Heung-min still remains during the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup tournament. As he leads only two consecutive games against Thailand, he will want to operate the best as much as possible, but he cannot help but be conscious of public opinion. In other words, he faced an embarrassing situation to select or exclude him from the national team.

Lee Kang-in has already become the core of the national team. Only Jurgen Klins has been active as an ace in attack after jumping to the starting line under coach Jürgen Klins. In the last 11 A matches, he has accumulated as many as 7 goals and 4 assists. He was also the only Korean player to make the best 11 in the Asian Cup despite being eliminated from the semifinals.

He also has a deep relationship with coach Hwang Sun-hong. He accompanied him during the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and won a gold medal. Lee Kang-in, who won the AG gold medal under Hwang Sun-hong, will be able to continue his career in Europe without considering military service. Coach Hwang and Lee Kang-in also have the advantage of knowing each other well.

The problem is that public opinion toward Lee Kang-in is still negative. This is because he had a conflict with Son Heung-min ahead of the last Asian Cup semifinal match against Jordan. Although he visited Son Heung-min himself and called each of his teammates to apologize, public opinion toward Lee Kang-in amid the so-called "reversal controversy" is still cold. From Hwang Sun-hong's point of view, even if Lee Kang-in is selected for the national team or excluded from the list, he is in a "dilemma" where fierce controversy is inevitable.

The response of the Korea Football Association (KFA) has become more important. In fact, the KFA has been sitting on the sidelines despite controversies between Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in. The KFA complained about the controversy as it admitted it was first reported by the British newspaper The Sun unusually quickly. Things got worse during the tournament as the KFA made it official without protecting players from what happened inside the squad. Since then, while the players have been trying to settle the controversy, there have been many criticisms that the KFA is hiding behind the players and not visible.

In order to show a willingness to deal with it belatedly, it is important to set some kind of guideline first related to the recruitment of Lee Kang-in at the KFA level. As KFA Chairman Chung Mong-kyu said earlier, "The only disciplinary action that can be taken against the players in the association is not to call them up." It is necessary to express his position, such as excluding the March call-up at the KFA level, or that there is no disciplinary action except for the call-up since the situation has been concluded to some extent due to Lee Kang-in's apology. Coach Hwang can decide whether to call Lee Kang-in within it.

The key point is that KFA should come to the fore, not hide behind, regarding the issue of Lee Kang-in's selection. This means that KFA should face the arrow, as criticism against coach Hwang Sun-hong or Lee Kang-in is inevitable at the moment. KFA, which has only grown controversy without protecting players and just sat on the sidelines, may be the last chance to settle the situation. If you try to hide behind and avoid responsibility again this time, distrust in KFA will inevitably grow.

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