The coach of North Korea’s first sports team to visit the South in eight years said his players were not “rude” as they prepared for Saturday’s Asian Women’s Champions League final.
Naegohyang Women’s FC will face Japan’s Tokyo Verdy Beeleza in Suwon, South Korea, after defeating Suwon FC Women in the semi-finals at the same stadium earlier this week.
A rare North-South semi-final was a hard-fought match played in a spirit of fairness without any major scores.
Three players from Naegohyang and two from Suwon were shown yellow cards over the 90 minutes they played in heavy rain.
Naegohyang coach Ri Yu-il said he expected the final to be played according to the rules.
“Since I came here, I have heard the expression ‘bad match’ used several times by some players of the opposing team and public opinion, even in the semi-final stage,” he said on Friday.
