Football chief vows to prevent internal fighting following Asian Cup row

South Korean football chief Chung Mong-gyu on Friday vowed to overhaul the player management system for national teams to prevent internal strife among players, in light of a high-profile skirmish involving two of the country's biggest stars during a recent tournament. Chung, president of the Korea Football Association (KFA), made this point while announcing the firing of Jurgen Klinsmann as head coach of the men's national team. The decision came 10 days after South Korea's semifinal exit from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in Qatar. Chung said the KFA had decided Klinsmann has failed to live up to the public expectations in terms of his coaching abilities, leadership and work habits. In particular, the coach's leadership was questioned when it was revealed earlier this week that national team captain Son Heung-min had suffered a finger injury in a scuffle with teammate Lee Kang-in on the eve of the semifinal match against Jordan. Per sources familiar with the incident, Son had taken e xception to Lee, 22, and other youngsters playing table tennis while their older teammates were having dinner. Son saw the team meal as an opportunity for bonding, but Lee ignored Son's order to rejoin the dinner. Son is said to have dislocated his finger when teammates tried to separate him and Lee. British media first reported the incident and the KFA promptly confirmed it. Critics of the KFA charged the organization with leaking the story in order to divert people's attention from larger issues at hand -- namely, Klinsmann's incompetence and Chung's immediate future -- and to single out players as scapegoats for the Asian Cup loss. Klinsmann himself blamed the team's poor performance on disharmony of the team, rather than on any lack of tactical preparation on his part. Chung said the national team "disappointed our fans" with their in-house fighting, and noted that the incident happened at a time when many members of the team were on edge at the tail end of a long tournament. "Some 50 players and staff members were stuck together for well over a month, and they had just played extra time in back-to-back matches," Chung said, referring to South Korea's nail-biting wins over Saudi Arabia and Australia in the round of 16 and then quarterfinals. "Physically and mentally, everyone was exhausted and was on edge. These things happen within teams from time to time." Lee has since apologized for his role in the incident but didn't specifically address Son. His legal representatives have also denied Lee had thrown a punch at Son, as has been widely reported, and said that the player will soon try to make clarification. "I hope people will stop getting too caught up in who did what and when. It will only make things worse," Chung said. "We will have to use this opportunity to allow younger players to mature. I will discuss those steps with the new head coach. Being able to bring the team together will be one of the most important responsibilities for the next coach." Chung said the KFA has a lot to learn from this case. "We will have to overhaul our player management system for national teams, and prevent similar cases in the future," he said. "We have to take a closer look at how we can best run national teams going forward." Since Son and Lee both play for foreign clubs, Chung said the KFA wouldn't be able to suspend them. The only way to discipline them, or any other overseas-based players for their roles, is not to select them for the next national team, Chung said. "It's something we'll have to discuss with the new coach," Chung added. Source: Yonhap News Agency