South Korean fans have rallied en masse in a bid to get their manager, Hong Myung-bo, sacked. The Asian nation is in significant danger of crashing out of the World Cup after they were beaten 1-0 by South Africa in their final group match.
World Cup Campaign Struggles
South Korea's World Cup campaign began with a victory over the Czech Republic, but defeats to the host nation, Mexico, and South Africa ended their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages automatically. Their tournament is not over just yet because, at the time of writing, they are sixth in the third-place table. But with only three points to their name and plenty of matches to be played, they are relying on several results going their way. The country's fan base knows it as well.
Petition Demands Sacking
A petition has been created demanding Myung-bo is sacked from his position immediately. It read: "The Korea Football Association's official selection process was effectively ignored, making it difficult to avoid criticism that the appointment was fundamentally illegitimate." The petition added: "Despite fielding what many considered the strongest squad in Korea's World Cup history, the team finished with one win and two losses, placing third in the group."
The petition also criticized the team's performance against South Africa, stating: "The performance against South Africa was so lifeless that it could be regarded as one of the worst displays by a Korean team in World Cup history." It also demanded the South Korea Football Association undergoes sweeping reform, requesting the National Assembly's budgetary authority to have more administrative oversight of the organization.
Political and Institutional Demands
The petition added: "The arbitrary appointment of a head coach by a particular individual while bypassing official bodies such as the National Team Strengthening Committee must be strictly prohibited. The only way to prevent the privatization of the football association is through the power of an institutional system."
The petition may be granted an initial review by the National Assembly after it secured the 100 endorsements needed to do so. At present, the National Assembly is pondering on making the petition public. If they do so and over 50,000 signatures are recorded within 30 days of it being made public, it will be referred to a national standing committee for review.
Manager's Response
After their potentially tournament-ending loss to South Africa, the South Korea boss appeared to suggest his team caved under pressure. He said: "The players seemed to carry a significant psychological burden to secure a win. The poor performance was likely due to a combination of psychological factors and environmental challenges like the extreme heat."
