Police raid S. Korean sports agency over Ronaldo row
South Korean police raided a sports agency as part
of a fraud inquiry after Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo sat out a
friendly in Seoul, enraging thousands of fans.
According to the police, the raid which was carried out after a criminal
complaint, was intended to investigate whether the agency lied by
claiming Ronaldo was guaranteed to play. We raided the office on
Thursday, a Seoul police officer told AFP. We are looking into whether
the agency proceeded with the match even though they were well aware
prior to the game that Ronaldo may not or was not going to play. A
criminal complaint filed by an unnamed individual accuses agency The
Fasta of swindling some 6 billion won (US$4.9 million) worth of ticket
sales by saying the contract with the Italian club obliged Ronaldo to
play for at least 45 minutes, and not warning buyers that he might not
appear.
The Portuguese striker stayed on the bench throughout
last month's friendly against a K-League all-stars team, with Juventus
saying he was rested on medical advice because of muscle fatigue. The
sell-out 65,000 crowd made its displeasure known during the game, which
was delayed for an hour after Juventus arrived late from the airport.
The K-League has accused Juventus of "deception" and demanded an
apology. But the club has rejected accusations of deception and
misbehaviour, with chairman Andrea Agnelli writing to the K-League:
"Ronaldo was... obliged, according to our medical staff's advice, to
rest due to a muscle fatigue. I definitely reject your accusation of
irresponsible behaviour, arrogance, of disregard for fans, which we
always honour, he added. The head of The Fasta, Robin Jang, has been
banned from leaving the country and will soon be questioned, police
added.