The Korean Football Association has expressed its discomfort with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s notice of an investigation into the selection process of Hong Myung-bo as head coach of the men’s national soccer team and the overall management of the association. “Even if we can examine the qualifications of the chairman and executives, we can’t just do whatever we want with the technical part. There is no other country in the world that does that.”
This is likely a reference to FIFA’s statutes, which stipulate the autonomy of national associations to operate and their independence from political power. FIFA had previously banned Kuwait from the World Cup, citing violations of its political neutrality obligations. Some fans have reacted by saying that the association’s mention of a possible World Cup 해외 카지노 사이 ban is a threat to protect the status quo. Will the ministry’s investigation and future audits really prevent the men’s national soccer team from competing at the World Cup?
In 2015, FIFA excluded Kuwait from international competition, citing government interference in the Kuwait Football Association. This was after the Kuwaiti government changed its sports laws, allowing it to remove or appoint key officials and control the organization’s finances. The decision resulted in Kuwait’s exclusion from the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in Russia.
There are other examples of judicial clashes with FIFA. In Brazil, a Rio de Janeiro court ruled to remove Brazilian Football Confederation president Hernaldo Rodriguez and other executives, only to have the decision overturned by the Supreme Court. The district court cited procedural issues in its ruling, including the fact that the election rules were changed just before the vote, allowing Rodrigues to run unopposed.
However, FIFA countered that “the autonomy of the Brazilian Football Confederation must be guaranteed” and that “if this is not respected, FIFA has no choice but to refer the matter to its decision-making body for consideration.” There have also been reports that Brazil will be kicked out of the World Cup if they force a presidential election based on political judgment.
For now, the most the ministry can do is audit the association. As of this year, the federation has been designated as a public organization and is subject to audits by the Ministry. However, even at that level, it is highly unlikely that the organization will be disqualified from international competitions. While the ministry can recommend improvements to the selection process, it doesn’t have the power to annul a coach’s appointment. FIFA hasn’t taken a position on the matter either.
In the past, countries have been sanctioned by FIFA for government interference in their soccer federations, but most of them have been warnings or fines. Kuwait is the only case that has resulted in a World Cup suspension. In Kuwait, the government went to the extreme of directly intervening in the management of the association and dissolving the existing association. At the time, the move raised suspicions that the Kuwaiti government was trying to channel public discontent over demands for democracy in the aftermath of the Arab Spring and declining oil revenues through the popular sport of soccer.
In the end, the more important question will be whether the move to monitor and check the association is politically motivated. It’s still hard to categorize the fierce fan criticism as political. In Brazil, Rodrigues was reinstated after the Brazilian Supreme Court overturned a district court ruling. However, the decision was met with local criticism that the Supreme Court made a politicized decision in anticipation of possible sanctions from FIFA and CONMEBOL.