Just when I’m feeling down on the GNP, the North Koreans intercede to remind me that they, not South Korea’s opposition party, are by far the biggest buffoons on the Korean Peninsula. Anyway, the footballing world may rest easy now - courtesy the Korea Times:
The Asian Football Confederation has handed down a one-year ban to North Korea’s men’s national senior team after a number of incidents in the past three months.
The ban, along with a fine of U.S.$8,000, was imposed during a meeting of the AFC’s Executive Committee on Dec. 12 for what the committee termed “failure to take AFC competitions seriously or handle administrative mattes effectively.”
The North Korean team were involved in controversy when they walked off and refused to play on after a firecracker was thrown onto the field during their Asian Cup qualifier against Iran in Tehran on Nov. 12.
The AFC awarded Iran a victory by the statutory 3-0 scoreline, while the Iran Football Federation was fined $10,000 and ordered to play its next AFC or FIFA home match behind closed doors.
North Korea also were handed a 3-0 loss judgment for the failure to issue visas to the Jordanian national team in time for the qualifier scheduled for Oct. 28 in Pyongyang.
Before this, North Korea had failed to turn up for their qualifying match in Lebanon on Sept. 27, for which they were handed an unspecified fine.
And I live an hour’s flight from these people?
