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Current Affairs

South Korean football body offered sex services for foreign referees in 2011, 2012: report

South Korea’s football governing body is facing further pressure after allegations emerged that it arranged sexual services for foreign referees in 2011 and 2012 in…

By Samantha Johnson / August 7, 2026

South Korea’s football governing body is facing further pressure after allegations emerged that it arranged sexual services for foreign referees in 2011 and 2012 in an apparent effort to influence officiating.

The allegations centre on confidential audit documents prepared by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2016, according to a report by South Korean broadcaster JTBC.

The report quoted a former Korea Football Association (KFA) official as saying the association sought to have referees “blow their whistles in our favour”.

According to Yonhap news agency, the referees who officiated those matches came from several countries, including Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Bahrain and Uzbekistan.

The KFA, which oversees South Korea’s national teams, is already under police scrutiny over alleged irregularities and nepotism surrounding the appointment of national team coaches following the country’s group stage exit from the 2026 Fifa World Cup.

Police raided KFA headquarters on Thursday as part of an investigation into alleged irregularities in the July 2024 appointment of former men’s national team coach Hong Myung-bo, who resigned after South Korea’s elimination at the recent tournament.

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