Asian football body notes S. Korea's 'positive' response to match fixing

SEOUL, July 25 (Yonhap) -- The continental football governing body on Monday noted "positive" efforts made by South Korea to handle the aftermath of a major match-fixing scandal in its top flight professional league.
A delegation from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said the K-League has taken the right steps to respond to the first match-fixing controversy in its 28-year history. The AFC's special mission team has completed its inspection of 16 K-League clubs to help them fulfill criteria to participate in next year's AFC Champions League, the top continental club competition. Currently, four K-League teams are allowed to enter.
"I think it was positive that (the K-League) made efforts to improve the entire football system in Korea," said Tokuaki Suzuki, director of competition and the professional football project at the AFC.



In light of the scandal, which saw dozens of active and former players indicted by public and military prosecutors, the K-League handed out lifetime bans and unveiled reform measures designed to protect itself from further match-fixing problems.
"I was briefed in great detail about all the steps that the K-League and the Korea Football Association (KFA) took following the match-fixing scandal, and I feel most of them were appropriate," Suzuki said. "I find it encouraging that they weren't just concerned about resolving the problems at hand. I could sense their willingness to reform the system as a whole and try to use this opportunity to improve themselves."
Suzuki said it was still too early to gauge how the match-fixing problems will affect the K-League's chances of maintaining its four berths in the AFC Champions League.
"We will make a decision after we review the final report upon completion of prosecutors' investigation," Suzuki said.
The official said the situation in the K-League has improved slightly over last year, but its teams still need to draw more fans. Suzuki's team also pointed to the lack of corporate sponsorship and falling prices of television broadcasting rights as concerns.
jeeho@yna.co.kr