Son says South Korea players resolve internal divisions

INTERNATIONAL BUREAU —Son Heung-min and four other South Korean players said Thursday they had put their differences aside after reports of bitter internal divisions at the heart of the national team. South Korean football has been mired in controversy since their hugely disappointing exit in the group stage of the World Cup, after which unpopular coach Hong Myung-bo quit.

In the fallout, reports emerged in local media of a split involving the 34-year-old skipper Son and some of the other players, including Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae. Son and Kim, together with Lee Jae-sung, Hwang In-beom and Hwang Hee-chan, issued a joint statement to fans apologising and saying it was time to move on after they held talks.

"First of all we would like to sincerely apologise to the Korean public and football fans for the concern caused by recent reports concerning the national team," the statement said. "At our recent meeting we gathered to share our thoughts on the national team openly and honestly. "By listening directly to one another and discussing matters we had not had sufficient opportunities to address, we were able to gain a better understanding of each other's positions." During their talks they said they looked at what went wrong at the World Cup, admitting they were still hurting from the experience.

"Our discussions began with the question of what needs to change to ensure that we do not repeat the same mistakes," they said in the statement. They added: "We now intend to put unnecessary controversy behind us and focus on building a stronger national team together." Spanish coach Robert Moreno took over from Hong on an interim basis, with his contract reportedly set to expire this month.

South Korea play Saudi Arabia in Qatar on Friday before another friendly, against Qatar, four days later. The matches were originally designed as build-up to the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia but the tournament was last week postponed to December next year.