The father of Tottenham Hotspur's star player Son Heung-min has been found guilty of physically and verbally abusing young soccer players at his academy in Korea.
On Friday, the Chuncheon district court imposed fines of three million won ($2,200/£1,700) and ordered 40 hours of educational programmes for Son Woong-jung, another son named Son Heung-yun, and a third coach who remains unnamed.
Despite denying any misconduct, Son senior expressed in court that he "never spoke or acted in a way that was not based on love for children" after facing charges alongside the two other coaches. However, he did apologize and promised to reassess the coaching practices at the academy, which was established in 2021 with substantial backing from the Tottenham ace.
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The indictments against Son Woong-jung and Son Heung-yun came following accusations from a young player's parents, claiming their child was hit with a corner flag during a training camp in Japan this March, necessitating two weeks of medical care. Additionally, Son Woong-jung faced allegations of swearing at youngsters for errors during practice.
The trio now have a week to appeal the ruling. Meanwhile, Son Heung-min is recovering from a hamstring injury picked up playing for Spurs against Qarabag in the Europa League last month.