 The world caught a rare glimpse of mob violence in North Korea Wednesday when soccer fans in the highly controlled state hurled bottles, rocks and chairs as the home team lost a World Cup qualifier to Iran. | Soccer fans, why do they hate.....everyone |
North Korea is a land where sporting celebrations involve hundreds of thousands of people, with every detail finely choreographed. The Stalinist state limits what the outside world can see of it, and it always makes sure the little that is put in front of television cameras is seen in the best possible light. But that was not the case at Kim Il-sung stadium. North Korean soldiers and police stepped in to try to restore order after defender Nam Song-chol was sent off for shoving Syrian referee Mohamed Kousa during the match seen on international satellite television. | Bad Nam, no grass for you |
The unrest continued after the final whistle, with match officials unable to leave the pitch for about 20 minutes as more projectiles rained down. The violence spilled over outside the stadium where thousands of angry North Koreans prevented Iran's players from boarding the team bus. | I'd say North Korea is ready for EU membership |
Riot police finally pushed back the crowd far enough for the Iranian squad to depart two hours after the end of the game. "The atmosphere on the pitch and outside the pitch was not a sports atmosphere," said Iran's Croatian coach, Branko Ivankovic. "It is very disappointing when you feel your life is not safe. My players tried to get to the bus after the game but it was not possible -- it was a very dangerous situation." "North Korea is an organized society and that kind of behavior will not be tolerated," said a North Korean defector in Seoul who was once a soccer official in his homeland. "I have never seen anything like this myself," he said. "The people responsible are likely be tracked down and severely punished." North Korean official media had nothing to say about the violence in Pyongyang. The KCNA news agency carried a two-sentence report on the game that simply said Iran won 2-0. |