Lee Kang-in heard a comment containing racist expressions to a fan of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
PSG will face Olympique Marseille in the ninth round of the French Ligue 1 for the 2024-25 season at the Orange Velodrome in Marseille, France, at 4:45 a.m. on the 28th (Korean time). Currently, PSG ranks first in the league with six wins and two draws (20 points), and Marseille ranks third in the league with five wins, two draws and one loss (17 points).
PSG’s team went on an away trip to Marseille. The match between PSG and Marseille is a big derby match, which is called the “El Clasicer.” Also, as there was not much gap between the two teams, this match was important for PSG. PSG’s team practiced at a training site in Marseille. The training was conducted as an open training session, and PSG fans were also able to watch the process.
An incident occurred during training. A PSG fan made racist remarks against Lee Kang-in. French media ‘Onzemondial’ reported on the 26th that “during the PSG squad training, racist and insulting remarks were made against Lee Kang-in.” The media posted an SNS video containing the scene.
The video showed fans giving high-fives and cheering for the players. Meanwhile, a fan spat out racist remarks at Lee Kang-in. It was “Aller mon chnois.” The French sentence is interpreted as “Let’s go Chinese!” in Korean. It is an expression of Lee Kang-in’s appearance by comparing it to “Chinese.”
This is clearly a racist expression. In Europe, the act of expressing “Chinese” to Asians, including Koreans, is interpreted as racism. In fact, it is a common racial discrimination that most Koreans who have experienced life in Europe experience. It is identified with “Ching-Chaeng-Chong,” which means mocking and disparaging of East Asians. If you have enough affection to watch PSG training, you would know that Lee Kang-in has a Korean nationality. Nevertheless, the fan in question spat out “Chinese” at Lee Kang-in.
Page, who posted the video on SNS, said, “Before the match against Marseille, supporters visited PSG players at the training site to ‘encourage’ them. You have to receive minimal education and respect the players.” In addition, a number of other local media also criticized the person who made racist remarks toward Lee Kang-in, saying, “It is still an abhorrent behavior that cannot be tolerated in soccer.”
Lee Kang-in suffered similar racial discrimination in the past when he was in RC Majorca. During May last year’s Majorca training, coach Javier Aguirre told Lee Kang-in, “Que Haces Chino?” It translates to “Chinese! What are you doing?” Coach Aguirre also made remarks with racist expressions even though he knew that Lee Kang-in’s nationality was in Korea, just like PSG fans. Even then, the case was controversial.
Meanwhile, in addition to Lee Kang-in, Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan have recently experienced racism. In the case of Son Heung-min, Rodrigo Bentancourt said in an interview with his country’s Uruguayan media last summer, “All Asians look the same.” The controversy escalated, and Bentancourt repeatedly apologized to Son, saying it was not his intention. Eventually, the English Football Association (FA) ended up indicting Bentancourt on charges of racism. 스포츠토토
Hwang Hee-chan also heard a racist remark, “Jackie Chan,” by an opposing defender in a practice match against Como 1907. In response, FIFA has imposed a severe punishment of “10 games suspension” on the player.
It is not known whether there is any special intention. However, a “wrong” cannot be a “mistake” just because it does not contain any intention. Bentancourt also stressed again that it was not intentional at all, but she was indicted by the FA. Many soccer circles around the world are campaigning to eliminate racism. Still, racism is not gone.