South Korean fans celebrated their qualification to the round of 16 of the World Cup, by publishing a picture of a celebration that was considered offensive by Uruguay player Federico Valverde, which he carried out more than 5 years ago
In the quarter-final match between Uruguay and Portugal in the U-17 World Cup, Valverde scored the equalizer for his team and celebrated with his eyes narrowed, knowing that the tournament was hosted by South Korea
After the celebration angered the fans of the organizing country, Valverde, the current Real Madrid player, was forced to explain his position and apologize through a message he wrote in Korean on Twitter, in which he said that he did not intend to insult anyone
The rising midfielder confirmed at the time that the gesture was meant to “honor a friend of his”
And on Friday, Valverde bid farewell to Uruguay with the World Cup, despite beating Ghana 2-0 in the last round of the group stage, due to South Korea’s dramatic last-minute victory over Portugal 2-1 in the same group
Thus, Portugal, the group leader, qualified for the round of 16, and South Korea accompanied them in second place, despite being equal to Uruguay in the number of points and goal difference, as the number of goals scored was resorted to
However, with the passage of more than 5 years, South Korean fans have not forgotten Valverde’s act, despite his apology afterwards
And one of the followers wrote on “Twitter” with a picture of the “offensive celebration”: “He celebrated like this against South Korea in 2017, and now they are cutting him out (from the World Cup). Karma (referring to the player’s revenge)
Another said: “Literally celebrate like this against South Korea in 2017. I want these guys gone
