LEE KANG-IN apologised for his ping pong bust-up that left Son Heung-min with a dislocated finger.
Lee, 22, was one of the younger members of the South Korea squad who left dinner early to go and play table tennis on the eve of their Asian Cup semi-final.
That infuriated influential skipper Son who confronted the Paris Saint-Germain winger and a scuffle broke out, as exclusively revealed by SunSport.
Reports in Korea add that Son grabbed Lee by the collar before Lee took a swing at the star forward.
And the altercation resulted in the Tottenham captain sustaining the painful finger injury.
Now Lee has taken to his Instagram story to say sorry.
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He wrote: “It was reported that I had an altercation with Son ahead of the Asian Cup semi-final.
“I have caused great disappointment to all those football fans who support the national team. I am so sorry.
“I should have listened to the older players and I apologise for not showing a good attitude.
“I apologise to the many people who are disappointed in me. I am well aware of how invested fans are in me as a player.
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“From now on, I will try to support the senior players and become a better player and person.”
Son, 31, valued the importance of team meals to bond and took exception to the youngsters dashing off to play games, especially ahead of facing Jordan in the semis.
A source told SunSport: “The row erupted from nowhere.
“A few of the younger players ate very quickly and left the rest of the squad to play ping pong
“Son asked them to come back and sit down when some disrespectful things were said to him.
“Within seconds players the row spilled into the dining area and players were being pulled apart.
“Son badly injured his finger trying to calm everyone down.”
South Korea, managed by Jurgen Klinsmann, crashed out to Jordan in a major semi-final upset – with their opponents ranked 64 places below.
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The two-time champions – way back in 1956 and 1960 – failed to muster up any shots of target in last week’s 2-0 defeat.
Son wore strapping on two fingers of his right hand – and sported similar bandages for Tottenham’s win over Brighton at the weekend.
South Korea’s Asian Cup journey
SOUTH KOREA were among the favourites to win the Asian Cup which was eventually lifted by Qatar.
GROUP STAGE
South Korea 3 Bahrain 1
Jordan 2 South Korea 2
South Korea 3 Malaysia 3
ROUND OF 16
Saudi Arabia 1 South Korea 1 (2-4 on penalties)
QUARTER-FINAL
Australia 1 South Korea 2
SEMI-FINAL
Jordan 2 South Korea 0
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
