Published : Oct. 31, 2012 - 19:47
Park Jong-woo
Park Jong-woo’s medal certificate (Yonhap News)
The International Olympic Committee has signed off on an Olympic medal certificate for a South Korean football player who was banned from collecting his medal following a controversial post-match celebration at the London Games, an official here said Wednesday.
The Korea Football Association official said the London Olympics organizing committee issued bronze medal certificates for the South Korean team, signed by IOC president Jacques Rogge.
Park Jong-woo, the midfielder who was barred from the medal ceremony in London following his celebration, was among the recipients of the certificates, the official added.
“The Korean Olympic Committee handed over the certificates to the KFA on Tuesday,” the official said. “And Park Jong-woo’s certificate was included.”
South Korea defeated Japan 2-0 to win its first Olympic football medal in London in August. Park was barred from the ceremony to collect his bronze medal and remains under disciplinary investigation by FIFA after displaying a sign that read, in Korean, “Dokdo Is Our Territory.”
Dokdo is a group of South Korea’s easternmost islets. It has been a source of diplomatic tensions between the Northeast Asian neighbors for years. (Yonhap News)