Shin Moon-sun, president of the football club Seongnam FC, said Thursday it is “wrong” for the country’s top football league to seek punishment for his beleaguered owner for his public criticism of officiating.At a press conference in Seongnam, south of Seoul, Shin urged the K League to scrap its plan to hold a disciplinary hearing on Friday for team owner Lee Jae-myung.Lee is also the mayor of Seongnam. The local government owns the football club.Lee is facing potential penalties after writing

Park Kyung-hoon, head coach of the South Korean football club Jeju United, stepped down on Wednesday with one year left in his contract, citing personal reasons.The K League Classic club announced that Park informed the team president, Jang Seok-soo, on Monday that he wanted to leave the bench because of health concerns. According to Jeju United, Park also said he wanted to return to teaching at Jeonju University in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, about 240 kilometers south of Seoul.Park, 53, too

Yoon Jung-hwan, freshly minted as head coach of the football club Ulsan Hyundai, said Wednesday he will try to reshape the underachieving team into a "feared" one next season.Yoon was named as the new bench boss for the K League Classic side on Monday, replacing Jo Min-gook. Ulsan finished second in the league in 2013 but fell to sixth place in Jo's lone season. They managed just two victories in their final 12 matches.Yoon, who previously coached Sagan Tosu in Japan's top-flight J. League, said

Park Kyung-hoon, head coach of the South Korean football club Jeju United, stepped down on Wednesday with one year left in his contract, citing personal reasons.The K League Classic club announced that Park informed the team president, Jang Seok-soo, on Monday that he wanted to leave the bench because of health concerns. According to Jeju United, Park also said he wanted to return to teaching at Jeonju University in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, about 240 kilometers south of Seoul.Park, 53, too

Lee Jae-myung, owner of the South Korean football club Seongnam FC, was defiant on Tuesday in the face of possible punishment over his public criticism of officiating.Lee is also the mayor of Seongnam, located just south of Seoul, where the local government owns the K League Classic club. Lee will face a disciplinary hearing after writing on his Facebook page last Saturday that Seongnam FC had been a frequent victim of poor officiating this season, citing three specific matches.In a board meetin

BARCELONA (AP) ― Even with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar on the team, a growing number of Barcelona fans are restless for change.The discontent of the club members bubbled to the surface last weekend when the president and sports director were widely jeered by thousands of disgruntled fans. What the club had planned as a festive tribute video to Messi for breaking the Spanish league’s scoring record took an unpleasant turn when the taped congratulations from Josep Bartomeu and Andoni Zubi

Lee Jae-myung, owner of the South Korean football club Seongnam FC, was defiant on Tuesday in the face of possible punishment over his public criticism of officiating.Lee is also the mayor of Seongnam, located just south of Seoul, where the local government owns the K League Classic club. Lee will face a disciplinary hearing after writing on his Facebook page last Saturday that Seongnam FC had been a frequent victim of poor officiating this season, citing three specific matches.In a board meetin

BARCELONA (AP) ― Barcelona needed a stoppage-time goal by Sergio Busquets to secure a 1-0 win at Valencia on a day Spanish football was rocked by the death of a fan after a violent clash between rival supporters.A 43-year-old fan of Deportivo La Coruna died of injuries sustained Sunday in a street fight that broke out between Deportivo and Atletico Madrid supporters hours before their match in Madrid.Elsewhere in Europe, the defending champions in England and Italy both earned victories.Manchest

The national governing body of professional football said Monday it will retain the same structure for the top-flight competition next season, with clubs to be divided into two tiers in the fall.The K League said the 12 teams in the first-division K League Classic will each play 38 matches. They will first play 33 games from March 7 to Oct. 4, and then they will be split into the upper tier, or Group A, and the lower tier, or Group B, based on their records at that point.Teams will then play fiv

 Veteran striker Lee Dong-gook of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors was voted the MVP of South Korean professional football on Monday. The 35-year-old garnered 101 out of 112 votes to claim the top individual award in the first-division K League Classic, easily beating out FC Seoul defensive back Cha Du-ri, with six votes, and Suwon Bluewings' forward Santos, who had five. Lee finished second in the league to Santos with 13 goals and helped Jeonbuk win their third championship in six seasons.   Lee became

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors were the runaway champion as the 2014 K League Classic football season ended last weekend with some late drama.The 12 clubs each played 33 matches before they were divided into upper and lower tiers. They played five more matches within their group, and Jeonbuk clinched their championship on Nov. 8, with three matches remaining on the schedule.Jeonbuk finished with 81 points on 24 wins, nine draws and five losses, a whopping 14 points ahead of the runner-up, Suwon Bluewing