By Andrew Warshaw
September 18 – Park Jong-Woo, the South Korean footballer who was banned from receiving his Olympic bronze medal for displaying a political message at London 2012 will have his disciplinary case heard by FIFA on October 5, the world governing body have confirmed.
The midfielder was barred from the Olympic podium ceremony at Wembley Stadium following South Korea’s 2-0 bronze medal win over Japan a few days earlier after he had displayed a sign saying “Dokdo is our territory”, referring to a territorial dispute between the Asian neighbours.
The disputed Dokdo islands, controlled by South Korea but also claimed by Japan, lie equidistant from the two countries and are believed to contain frozen natural gas deposits potentially worth billions of dollars.
The hearing next month will help decide if Park (pictured above and below, #15) gets the bronze medal that the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which is also investigating, has withheld since August 10.
South Korean team officials have long insisted the move was not planned, and that Park picked up the sign after it was thrown from the stands.
He has since been called up to the senior national team for the recent World Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan in Tashkent.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter admitted it was an unusual and awkward case.
“Our Disciplinary Committee is investigating this matter,” Blatter said in Tokyo on the eve of the Women’s Under-20 World Cup final when the United States beat favourites Germany 1-0.
“You can imagine that this is a very touchy matter.
“This player has not received the medal.
“There is still one medal pending for the delegation of Korea.
“I would say at least in the next month it should be settled.”
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