North Korean Players Reprimanded

Recently, I wrote about the influences corrupting soccer to support my position that FIFA should take advantage of available technology.  One of those corrupting influences was the application of political power.  I mentioned specifically the rumor that North Korea might send its players and their families to work in the coal mines as punishment for their performances.  The Associated Press reported today that the men of North Korea’s World Cup squad were summoned to the capital sometime this month and reprimanded for their poor performance.  And they were instructed to reprimand their coach.

It has to be strange to play against a team like North Korea and know as you’re celebrating your goals the impact you may have had on the lives and families of the men who share the very same field for those 90 minutes.

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