It has already been reported that the Chinese Football Association (CFA) imposed lifetime bans on 43 people, including Son, on Tuesday for match-fixing, bribery and illegal betting on football matches.
Son explained to reporters on Wednesday that his detention in China was an “incredible shock” for him.
Son, then playing for Chinese Super League side Shandong Taishan, was accused by the CFA of match-fixing and bribery last year and was jailed for 10 months in May last year.
The 32-year-old footballer claimed on Wednesday that Chinese police threatened him and his family, including his children, and forced him to confess to crimes he did not commit.
“I was accused of ridiculous things,” explained the midfielder, who has played 20 games for South Korea, with tears in his eyes. “I was threatened that in case of non-confession, my wife will also be arrested through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and she will be taken to the detention center.”
Son explained that the police accused him of bribery and bribery and he was fooled.
“I said that I have not done anything like that,” the 32-year-old football player remembered with tears in his eyes. “They [pratinātāji] showed me pictures of my children on the phone and asked if the children deserve it?”
“If your wife is also here, who will take care of them? Do you think your children don’t want to see their father?” Son remembered the actions of the police. “So that you confess,” they said.
The footballer told journalists that he was offered a deal – if he confesses to the charges brought against him, he will be released quickly.
“Overwhelmed by fear and out of concern for my family, I was forced to confess to charges I didn’t even understand,” Son explained, insisting that Chinese police should release audio files of his interrogation to prove he was influenced.
Son participated in three of the four matches of the South Korean national team in the 2022 World Cup finals, but was not included in the 2026 qualifiers, as the South Korean football management was concerned about the accusations made by China.
Son returned to his homeland in March this year, after ten months of detention in China. He resumed his career in one of the clubs of the fifth league, but in June he joined “Suwon”, the team of the strongest (K-1) league in South Korea.
It has already been reported that the CFA disqualified 43 people for life from football activities, of which 38 are players and five are club officials. Several more people received shorter disqualifications, including 17 persons sentenced to a five-year disqualification.
Among those banned for life are also three former players of the Chinese national team – Jin Jindao, Guo Tianyu and Gu Chao.
2024-09-13 05:05:30