AN INVESTIGATION into Cristiano Ronaldo’s failure to play in a friendly in South Korea last year has been put on hold.
South Korean officials began to look into allegations of fraud after complaints over Juventus’ decision not to play the winger against K-League All Stars.
Cristiano Ronaldo remained on the bench for the July 2019 as the sides drew 3-3Credit: AFP or licensors
Thousands of fans turned out in the South Korean capital just to see the superstar strikerCredit: AFP or licensors
It is alleged that the promoter behind the match, The Fasta Inc, had obliged the Serie A giants to play Ronaldo for at least 45 minutes
Instead, the veteran star sat out the entirety of the pre-season fixture on Juve’s tour of Asia in July 2019.
A muscle injury was blamed at the time with Ronaldo subjected to chants of “Messi, Messi” from furious local fans.
The Portuguese forward also suffered an online backlash, as well as the anger of the 65,000 paying fans in Seoul.
A lawsuit and criminal investigation were launched before prosecutors had to shelve their inquiries.
According to KBS, Seoul officials announced on Thursday the pause is down to a request to Italian authorities for corresponding data on the episode.
GOING NOWHERE FASTA
The investigation into both Juventus and The Fasta is on hold until the Italian data, reportedly requested earlier in the year, arrives.
Kick-off in the ill-fated friendly was also delayed by an hour and fans have been awarded compensation for the no-show.
Two South Korean fans were each paid £237 after a district court in Incheon deemed they had suffered “mental anguish” from the saga.
Several other attendees are said to have pushed ahead with court action, with Myungan attorney Kim Hun-ki telling AFP that as many as 2,000 fans had been in contact with him after the friendly.
I spoke to Andrea Agnelli and Ronaldo before the game and we concluded that it’d be best to rest him.
Maurizio Sarri
Kim said: “Many purchased tickets to see Ronaldo. The Fasta publicised that the company had a deal with Juventus which stipulated Ronaldo would play for at least 45 minutes and that Ronaldo would hold a fan signing event.
“Normally in such cases the plaintiffs will be refunded the price of the tickets, but I put this under a special case since the company, through false advertising, took advantage of the football star’s fans.”
The Fasta CEO Robin Chang declared at the time that she had complained to Juve chief Pavel Nedved, with then-coach Maurizio Sarri admitting the decision to rest Ronaldo was taken pre-game.
She said: “When I went to argue with Nedved, the vice president of Juventus, all he said was ‘I also wish Ronaldo ran, but he doesn’t want to. Sorry, there’s nothing I can do’. I was so frustrated.”
Sarri said: “I spoke to Andrea Agnelli and Ronaldo before the game and we concluded that it’d be best to rest him.”
The Fasta are also reportedly in hot water over overseas gambling companies advertisements displayed during the game, contrary to local law.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
