Korean soccer team hit with record fine, may face stadium expulsion over sex dolls in stands
South Korea’s K League has fined FC Seoul a record 100 million won ($81,454.45) for placing what appeared to be sex dolls in the stands at Seoul World Cup Stadium during a game on Sunday.
The dolls were there in lieu of fans as play resumed in an empty stadium amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Reuters.
“The disciplinary committee decided to take heavy disciplinary action considering the graveness of the incident, caused by the ‘real doll’, that has greatly insulted and hurt female and family fans and to prevent similar incidents going forward,” a K League statement reads.
FC Seoul could face expulsion from stadium
Newspaper Kookmin Ilbo reports that FC Seoul could face expulsion from the stadium over the mishap. Seoul Facilities Corporation, which operates the stadium, is investigating the team further for potential failure to obtain advance permission for advertising. Fans watching on TV noticed that some of the dolls held signs promoting the name of an adult toy company.
The team acknowledged the incident and issued an apology on Monday.
“We would like to apologize to the fans," a team statement reads. "We are very sorry about the supporting mannequins that were placed during the game on May 17. These mannequins may have been made to look and feel like real humans but they are not for sexual use -- as confirmed by the manufacturer from the beginning.
“Our intention was to do something lighthearted in these difficult times. We will think hard about what we need to do to ensure that something like this never happens again.”
The dolls were outfitted in FC Seoul gear and holding signs supporting the team. Fans on TV noticed that they looked more like sex dolls than ordinary mannequins. K League rules don’t allow sexual advertisements.
The K League accepted that the team intended to order ordinary mannequins instead of sex dolls, but carried out the fine because the team failed to remove them from the stands when given ample time, according to the report.
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